Space & Style Ltd director Winfrida Ngumi appointed KeNHA board chairperson
President Uhuru Kenyatta has appointed businesswoman Winfrida Wanjiku Ngumi, a serving director at the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) as the new board chairperson.
Winfrida is also a director of Space and Style Limited, a firm that has previously hit headlines over controversial tax arrears of Sh439million in which a former Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and the then Domestic Taxes Department (DTD) boss Robert Maina Ngumi was fined Sh2milion for demanding a Sh15million bribe.
Also, Space and Style Limited was at the center of a vicious ownership dispute where the name of the former KRA Commissioner General John Njiraini was dragged in.
The ownership row was pitting Njama Wambugu against Winfrida who were the co-founders of the tiles company.
Disgruntled Wambugu claimed that Njiraini held shares in Space & Style through an offshore company, Decamis Limited, which is registered in Hong Kong.
Wambugu had accused Njiraini for allegedly agreeing to help in resolving tax issues that the company was facing at one time on condition that he would be given shares in the firm.
However, Njiraini claimed that he is not a shareholder in Space and Style and accused Wambugu for using the court to blackmail him into helping him stop tax-related investigations into his firms.
In a ruling, Chief Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi ruled that the former KRA boss to serve 18 months in prison if he fails to pay the fine.
Space and Style supplies roofing materials including the popular decra tiles.
At the time, operations of Space and Style Limited were valued at Sh1.3billion.
Winfrida was appointed through a gazette notice published on August 5, 2022 among the nineteen appointment the Head of State made just days to the end of his tenure of office.
“The former chairman Wangai has cleared from the office and the new chairperson is expected to report from next week. The transition and handing over is scheduled for next week.” Our source at Barabara Plaza, KeNHA headquarters intimated.
Until her appointment, Winfrida Ngumi was a board member representing the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM).
She takes over from embattled Engineer Wangai Ndirangu whose term ended at the beginning of this month amid court cases that challenged his appointment as irregular.
