Predictably, in view of the shenanigans by outgoing CEO George Muhoho, the recently-appointed chairman of the Kenya Airports Authority and his board decided to declare the advert seeking applications for a successor to the CEO null and void and placed their own version in the daily and regional newspapers. Muhoho was alleged to have tried to engineer a successor of his choice for his post, which he is leaving after almost 7 years, amidst much controversy in the past and in particular over his hotly-contested re-appointment a year ago.
The new advert no longer requires a number of qualifications Muhoho’s own advert had insisted on, lending credibility to claims he had tailored it towards his chosen individual in the organization. A year ago, the then chairman of KAA left the organization in protest, after his and the board’s objections to an extension were overruled by the minister in charge of transport. It then took almost the entire year before the minister appointed a new chair, who on arrival swiftly moved to assert his authority and made sure that the legal provisions of the state corporation act, which vests the employment of the CEO in the board, was observed to the letter.
Muhoho himself is due to leave office at the latest by early April and these most recent squabbles will do little to improve his legacy, which was often overshadowed by arguments in the media and allegations, mainly over the circumstances of contract awards and contract extensions for work at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
