Intrigues behind KPA Managing Director Catherine Mturi-Wairi’s exit

Kenya Ports Authority Managing Director Catherine Mturi-Wairi. The KPA board of directors on May 30, 2018 announced that it had sent Ms Mturi on compulsory leave over incompetence and theft of containers at the port. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • It is not clear why Ms Wairi decided to resign abruptly yet the case involving her suspension was still pending in court.

  • President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday appointed retired army man Joseph Kibwana to replace Major (rtd) Madoka as KPA chairman.

  • Ms Wairi is also said to have clashed with powerful individuals over the buying of land for the expansion of the Nairobi Inland Container Depot after she stopped payment for the same over alleged inflated price. 

The abrupt resignation of former Kenya Ports Authority managing director Catherine Mturi-Wairi, shortly after the court reinstated her, has sparked great speculation.

In a letter dated June 8, 2018, Ms Mturi-Wairi said she has voluntarily quit as the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Managing Director.

“I hereby wish to inform you of my decision to voluntarily vacate from the office of managing director of the Kenya Ports Authority with immediate effect, to enable me pursue other personal interests,” reads the letter addressed to Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia.

The resignation came against a backdrop of two separate court cases filed at the High Court and the Employment and Labour Relations Court challenging the KPA board’s decision to send her on compulsory leave, orders which KPA had sought to have lifted in a Friday application.

In lifting her suspension, the court suspended the appointment of Dr Daniel Manduku as the acting MD. Rights activist Okiya Omtatah had also filed a case at the Employment Court protesting Ms Wairi’s removal.

RESIGN

It is not clear why Ms Wairi decided to resign abruptly yet the case involving her suspension was still pending in court. The case against KPA was filed by Mr Emmanuel Chengo Kenga through lawyer Gunga Mwinga.

The fate of the acting MD is now not clear, following the court order. Mr Kenga, in his petition, argued that Ms Wairi’s ouster was unprocedural, as the board was illegally constituted at the time.

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday appointed retired army man Joseph Kibwana to replace Major (rtd) Madoka as KPA chairman.

Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia also appointed Peter Gibendi, Mary Ngare, Conrad Thorpe, Kariuki Njiri and Alice Mwaisaka as members. 

The appointment of Michael Maina, who had been the session chair when the decision to send Ms Wairi on leave was taken, has also been revoked. Mr Maina also presided over the handing over ceremony to Dr Manduku when Ms Wairi was suspended. 

COMPULSORY LEAVE

During the press briefing at the port, Mr Maina on behalf of the board said Ms Wairi had been sent on compulsory leave over incompetence and theft of containers at the port.  

However, it has emerged that prior to her suspension, Ms Wairi and all members of the KPA board were appraised by the State Corporation Advisory Committee.

“During the appraisal, Ms Wairi scored 85 per cent and she topped all the board members,” an insider at the port said. 

Just a day after Ms Wairi was suspended, a tender for the expansion of Kipevu Oil Terminal (KOT) worth more than Sh40 billion was opened. Four firms bid for the tender. 

They include China Communication Construction Company, China Gezhuuba Group Company, Consortium of China Engineering Company and China Ocean Engineering Construction General Bureau (CNAC). Evaluation of the tender will begin soon. 

CLASHED

Ms Wairi is also said to have clashed with powerful individuals over the buying of land for the expansion of the Nairobi Inland Container Depot (ICD) after she stopped payment for the same over alleged inflated price. 

“She ordered KPA to re-value all the pieces of land that were to be bought and directed that the National Land Commission (NLC) conducts due diligence, sparking off a series of events,” an official privy to the issue said. 

It has also emerged that the whereabouts of millions of shillings collected as freight charges by Kenya Railways (KR) for transportation of containers from the port by the standard gauge railway (SGR) from January to March is unknown. 

According to interviews by government officials conversant with how freight charges for the SGR were to be collected and secured, only money collected from April can be accounted for.

The money in question was for transportation of containers from the port to the Inland Container Depot in Nairobi. 

SGR LOAN REPAYMENT

“The money was supposed to be banked in a KPA-KR joint escrow account that is supposed to facilitate the SGR loan repayment, but this was not done,” one of the officials said. 

Ms Wairi is said to have raised the matter with KR managing director Atanas Maina and other government officials before KPA introduced an SGR freight tariff in its billing system in April and took over the responsibility. 

A committee comprising officials from KPA and KR has been formed to reconcile the number of containers transported from SGR from January to March. “The committee is also supposed to establish how much money was collected and where the money was banked,” a person close to the team added. 

SH320 BILLION PROJECT

According to the loan agreement between Kenya and China, the burden of the SGR loan repayment falls on KPA as it guaranteed the Sh320 billion project. 

For example, if KR is supposed to move 1,000 containers per day and fails to meet this target, KPA is supposed to pay the shortfall.

Recently, KPA was forced to refund importers more than Sh155 million after their containers destined to Mombasa were instead taken to the Nairobi ICD. 

Also, following cargo delays caused by breakdown of the Kenya Revenue Authority manifest management system, a directive was made to have containers taken to container freight stations.