No successor yet as CBK boss exits
What you need to know:
- His term has been characterised by huge expectations, most of which are largely unmet, with interest rates stagnating, even after the introduction of the Kenya Banks Reference Rate.
- Up to a few days before his term ends today, the CBK governor was surviving on temporary orders barring his arrest pending determination of a case challenging alleged corruption charges against him issued on February 13 by High Court Judge David Majanja.
- Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko had ordered that Prof Ndung’u be prosecuted for irregularly awarding a Sh1.2 billion tender to install a modern security system at the CBK.
Professor Njuguna Ndung’u will not be the Central Bank of Kenya governor from midnight, as the question of who will succeed him remains unanswered.
Prof Ndung’u’s tenure ends after seven years at one of Kenya’s most powerful offices.
His term has been characterised by huge expectations, most of which are largely unmet, with interest rates stagnating, even after the introduction of the Kenya Banks Reference Rate.
He, however, made gains in the financial inclusion agenda, with the un-banked population significantly reducing and mobile money hitting a record high in transaction numbers and volumes.
The 54-year-old nearly escaped the controversies that characterise the exit of almost all occupants of the corner office at CBK.
Like his predecessors, Prof Ndung’u was faced with circumstances that nearly made his exit from office unceremonious.
Up to a few days before his term ends today, the CBK governor was surviving on temporary orders barring his arrest pending determination of a case challenging alleged corruption charges against him issued on February 13 by High Court Judge David Majanja.
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission detectives had reportedly made unsuccessful attempts to arrest him that week, claiming he could not be located.
Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko had ordered that Prof Ndung’u be prosecuted for irregularly awarding a Sh1.2 billion tender to install a modern security system at the CBK.
So today exits the governor. He is leaving the Central Bank’s hot seat from which all his predecessors have had rougher times and barely saw what Prof Ndung’u will see today, the end of a term.
