Why Joe Sang’s reappointment as KPC boss was overturned by the High Court

By Victor MUJIDU

The High Court of Kenya Friday suspended Joe Sang’s reappointment as the acting managing director of Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), barely two weeks after a previous court ruling cleared him of corruption charges over the construction of the Sh1.9 billion Kisumu Oil jetty.

Also Read: Return of the mark, what Joe Sang’s return to Kenya Pipeline means for the cash rich parastatal 

In a petition filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the lawyers’ umbrella body argued that Sang’ does not hold any position within KPC, having resigned as the MD in 2018.

“…he was no longer part of the company for the last 5 years and cannot be appointed in an acting capacity,” the LSK says in the petition, adding that his appointment is against the constitution and the set standards that govern the recruitment of public officers in fair competition and merit.

The LSK further says there was no advertisement for the position of MD and none has been put forth so far.

The board of Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) on January, 17 announced the appointment of its former Chief executive Joe Sang as the new acting managing director of the cash-rich state corporation, barely weeks after being cleared of alleged corruption charges a month earlier.

His appointment saw him assume his CEO role “effective immediately” which meant that the current office bearer, Dr. Macharia Irungu, who took over at the helm in 2020 following the exit of Mr. Hudson Andambi, was to vacate the office.

Andambi served as the acting managing director from December 2018 following the arrest and prosecution of the firm’s top brass.

The board while making the announcement at the time, however, declined to renew Irungu’s contract. He previously served as the managing director at Gulf Africa Petroleum Corporation (Gapco).