Sh1.4b GOtv stake haunts Isaboke

Stephen Isaboke, nominee for the position of PS State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunications before the National Assembly's Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation at Bunge Towers, Parliament, Nairobi. April 4th,2025. (Elvis Ogina, Standard) Stephen Isaboke's nomination as principal secretary in the State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunications hangs in the balance after a parliamentary committee raised concerns over a conflict of interest owing to his shareholding in GOtv Kenya. The Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration, and Agriculture says in a memorandum to Parliament that Isaboke's appointment could raise a conflict of interest, recommending that he serve in another state department. "Any further collaboration between the Government of Kenya and GOtv will be conflicted as long as Mr Stephen Isaboke (pictured) is at the helm of the State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunication," states PIC in its memorandum dated April 2. Mr Isaboke served as managing director of MultiChoice Kenya between 2008 and 2011, followed by a stint as the regional managing director from 2011 to 2018, and then ascended to the role of group executive head of regulatory affairs, a role he served until recently. According to a PIC inquiry, MultiChoice Africa offered the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) a 40 per cent stake during the establishment of GOtv in 2012. The structure of the local shareholding was for KBC to inject 30 per cent in cash and 10 per cent in assistance for applying for frequencies. KBC facilitated GOtv's acquisition of the frequencies but was unable to take its shareholding of 40 per cent because of the regulatory restriction. At the time, KBC was a shareholder in Signet, but a lack of funds and regulatory restrictions prevented the state broadcaster from taking up its shareholding in GOtv. "However, although at this point KBC had already done its part on collocation and assistance in applying for frequencies, which automatically entitled it (KBC) to a 10 per cent shareholding, it did not take up either the 10 per cent or the 30 per cent to be funded by KBC," explains PIC in its memorandum. A record from the Business Registration Service obtained on April 2, 2025, attached to the PIC memorandum, indicates that Mr Isaboke owns 643 out of 2142 ordinary shares in GOTV Kenya and 52715 out of 175715 preferential shares, translating into a 30 percent stake in the company.

Sh1.4b GOtv stake haunts Isaboke

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Sh1.4b GOtv stake haunts Isaboke

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