This archive report was first published on 7 September 2019.
Published on September 7, 2019, a court ruling has thrown the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) into a succession row, with the appointment of a new director general being nullified.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court made the decision on a case filed by the Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek) challenging the replacement of the CA director general on grounds that the board of directors is not properly constituted.
Justice Byram Ongaya of the Employment and Labour Relations Court issued an order on August 16 stopping the recruitment of the director general's successor and directed the status quo to be maintained.
However, board chairman Ngene Gituku named the regulator's legal services director Mercy Wanjau as the interim director general, with ICT Cabinet secretary Joe Mucheru insisting Francis Wangusi's term had expired.
Wangusi's term in office came to an end on August 21, 2019, according to Mucheru.
CA board chairman Gituku maintained that Wanjau's appointment was on an interim capacity and the recruitment of a new director general was on hold.
Former DG Wangusi says he does not want to go back to office but the legal tussle has made his exit uncertain.
The stand-off has thrown operations at one of the country's crucial regulators in limbo, with a few months left to the close of the year.
