The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) on Monday suspended its Director General Ezra Chiloba.
The Authority’s chairperson Mary Mungai announced the decision in an internal memo to all staff on Monday, September 18 2023.
Mungai also appointed Christopher Wambua as the Director General in acting capacity until further notice.
Wambua has been serving as the Director of Consumer and Public Affairs at CA since 2016.
The suspension comes two years after his appointment to the docket. He took over from Francis Wangusi following his retirement in 2021.
It has emerged that mismanagement of the Sh662.4M Staff Mortgage Scheme at the Communication Authority is at the heart of the axe that fell on Chiloba:
1. Defaults to the tune of Sh28.9M for mortgages approved & granted without consideration of the contract term.
2. Refinancing mortgages to the tune of Sh364.8M for staff who lack evidence of the upgrades and/or improvements for their purchased and/or construction houses.
3. Material Variance of more than 20% in Property Valuation between the Government and Privately Contracted Valuers.
4. Understatement of loan balances for former staff of the Authority.
5. Inadequate approvals of Architectural Plans/Designs for Construction Mortgage Facility therefore exposing the authority to abuse of the facility and financial risk.
6. Failure to undertake timely Mortgage Insurance Protection Advance for the property.
Before his appointment, Chiloba was a board member of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF), a state agency that provides loans and grants to young entrepreneurs.
He was also the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), where he oversaw the controversial 2017 general elections and the repeat presidential election.
He was sacked by IEBC in 2018 after an internal audit revealed irregularities in procurement during the polls.