CA board suspends DG Ezra Chiloba, appoints Christopher Wambua in an acting capacity

By Monica MUEMA

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has suspended its Director General Ezra Chiloba with immediate effect.

The Authority’s chairperson Mary Mungai announced the decision in an internal memo to all staff on Monday, September 18 2023.

CA has appointed Christopher Wambua as the Director General in acting capacity until further notice.

The CA boss was shown the door over alleged abuse of office and misuse of funds in the authority’s mortgage scheme.

The probe was conducted by a committee, dubbed Board Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (BARAC). According to BARAC, Chiloba breached the obligations under his terms of service by applying for and individually approving a mortgage loan in contravention of the required procedure.

The committee, tasked with probing the inconsistencies noticed in the mortgage scheme, found that relevant information was omitted and that the loan was approved by a junior staff meaning, there’s no evidence showing law was followed.

“The loan application was approved by a junior staff member and there is no evidence to support that fact that the junior staff member carried out requisite due diligence and advice management including but not limited to the relationship between the seller and the buyer and the size of the property,” a section of the report reads.

Chiloba is also accused of misconduct while in office by purchasing a house and a piece of land exceeding the one-acre limit under the Civil Servants Housing Scheme requirement.

“Further interrogation to confirm the identity of the seller vide a query through the Companies Registry revealed the sole director and shareholder of Kitale Hilmost Ltd as Ezra Chiloba Simiyu, who is also the buyer. These actions amount to an offense in accordance with Section 41 and 42 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act,” the report shows.

From these findings, the committee recommended disciplinary action against the Director General, Directors of Human Resources, Legal Services, and Finance, as well as the internal auditor.

“Mortgage scheme repayment defaulters were mainly Officers who had left the Authority. The officers were cleared without due regard to outstanding obligations to the Authority. Management should hold those responsible to account and recover the liabilities within the next 30 days,”

In an interview with Citizen TV on Monday night, Telecommunications and Broadcasting Principal Secretary (PS) Edward Kisiangani said the Ministry was not aware of the move.

Chiloba joined CA in September 2021.

He replaced Francis Wangusi, whose second and final term ended in 2019.

Before his appointment, Chiloba was a board member of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF), a state agency that provides loans and grants to young entrepreneurs.

He was also the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), where he oversaw the controversial 2017 general elections and the repeat presidential election.