The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Deputy Governor nominee Susan Jemtai Koech, one of the Arror and Kimwarer Dams former suspect charged over the Sh63billion scandal before their cases were dropped has disclosed she is worth Sh370million during the ongoing grilling by the Parliamentary committee vetting panel.
The former Principal Secretary under the Ministry of East African Affairs is among the ten contestants for the post shortlisted by the Public Service Commission (PSC) of the 79 applicants.
Jemtai was charged in the Sh63 billion Arror and Kimwarer dams case but was dropped from the trial by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji.
During the sessions currently ongoing before a joint sitting of the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Finance and Economic Planning and the Senate’s Standing Committee on Finance and Budget, Koech has told the vetting team that her wealth comprises assets worth Sh425million and liabilities worth Sh55million.
She explained that the wealth includes shares at Co-operative Bank and Safaricom, as well as income from running a hotel and a construction firm, as well as farming and rental businesses.
Others set to be vetted include the Director of Bank Supervision at CBK Gerald Nyaoma, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) Paul Muthaura and former Nairobi Securities Exchange boss Chris Mwebesa.
Others include; Rose Ngugi, Executive Director of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, Kenya Ports Authority head of audit Fredrick Oyugi, former director of the CBK Currency Department James Lopoyetum and Jean Moira Wameyo, former fiduciary services manager at the African Development Bank.
Former National Bank of Kenya (NBK) managing director Munir Sheikh Ahmed has also made it to the coveted list.
The hiring of the second CBK deputy governor will enable the banking regulator to meet a legal requirement that has been breached for over five years.
The law, enacted in 2015, demands that the CBK executive team be composed of the governor and two deputies.
Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta ignored calls for the CBK to have two deputy governors during his nearly 10-year tenure.
The PSC advertised the post in November last year and CBK staff, bankers and civil servants were locked out of the race for it.
The PSC said salaried employees of public entities (except on a secondment) were ineligible for the position.
Also locked out were members of Parliament or of county assemblies “or a director, officer, employee, partner in or shareholder of any specified bank or financial institution”, the PSC said.
CBK board chairman Mohammed Nyaoga, Governor Patrick Njoroge and his deputy Sheila M’Mbijiwe are all set to exit their positions with their second tenures in office coming to an end.
If Koech sails through, she will be the heir apparent to succeed Njoroge.
Njoroge and M’Mbijiwe were first appointed by former President Uhuru Kenyatta in June 2015 and their terms renewed for another four years in June 2019.
This was despite M’Mbijiwe attaining the mandatory retirement age of 60 in March 2018, which in effect should have paved the way for her exit from the bank.
