Hiring of Kenya Power boss contested

Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) newly appointed MD Bernard Ngugi during a press conference. [Boniface Okendo/Standard]

A private citizen has challenged the recent appointment of Bernard Ngugi as the managing director of Kenya Power in court.

Maureen Nyambura wants the appointment of Mr Ngugi, a former general manager in charge of supply chain at the utility firm, annulled due to alleged integrity issues arising from his time in the previous position.

Ngugi, who has been with the power retailer for 30 years, in October replaced Ken Tarus, who was kicked out last year following his arrest and charging with corruption in a case that is still ongoing. The corruption purge at the electricity distributor in July last year saw the entire management team face the same fate as Mr Tarus.

Ngugi is one of only three top managers who survived last year’s corruption clean-up by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

In the petition filed before Employment and Labour Relations Court Judge Maureen Onyango in Nairobi yesterday, Ms Nyambura through lawyer Samuel Ndung’u alleged that Ngugi was actively involved in fraudulent deals regarding the procurement and tendering processes for the supply of transformers in his previous position.

The matter will be heard on February 4, 2020.