Kenya: Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) Director-General Francis Wangusi will seek a new term as head of the regulatory agency.
The authority has kicked off the recruitment of a new Director General, ahead of the expiry of his first term in August in line with the requirements of the Kenya Information Communications Act, 1998, as amended in 2013.
Mr Wangusi was appointed to the position on August 21, 2013 for a period of three years ending on August 21 2015. Prior to his appointment he had served in the same position in an acting capacity for a period of one year.
"The director-general's term as per his contract is coming to an end in August this year and the board began the process of finding a new director-general six months to this date, going by the provisions of the Kenya Information and Communication Amendment (KICA) Act, 2013, hence the advertisement we placed in the media," said CA Chairman Ben Gituku.
Mr Gituku was responding to reports in sections of the media that alluded to Wangusi being sent on compulsory leave and his position being declared vacant, a position CA board and Wangusi (pictured) refuted.
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"I have not been sent on leave and I am still dispensing my duties as the regulator in accordance with my contract, in fact my schedule does not even allow me to go on leave until after June," he stated.
Wangusi further stated he has enjoyed his tenure at the helm of the country's communications regulator and he will consult with those around him before re-applying for the position for another term.
He took over the helm of the CA, then Communications Commission of Kenya from Charles Njoroge in 2012 and has steered the regulator through several high-profile disputes in the telecommunications and broadcasting industry.
The digital migration tussle between the Government and the top three media houses in the country threw Wangusi in the middle of the storm, testing his prowess and that of the regulator.
In addition to this, the CA is in the middle of coming up with new regulations aimed at addressing industry concerns around the dominance of mobile service provider Safaricom, another issue that has caused much heated debate.
"Every decision we have made regarding digital migration process and the concerns about market dominance by certain players was made by the regulator and not by myself as an individual and whoever comes after August 2015 whether myself or someone else will continue with the work that is ongoing," stated Wangusi.
