Bill Lay gets Kenya citizenship after KK Security job

Bill Lay, former chief executive of CMC Holdings, has finally been granted Kenyan citizenship, in what would end run-ins with the Immigration Department over his work permit.

Mr Lay, who is married to Taita Taveta County women representative Joyce Wanjalah Mwakalindo, Thursday told the Business Daily that the government had approved his application for Kenyan nationality.

This means that the 61-year- old should now rest easy in his new appointment as head of KK Security’s oil and gas division, a position he took up in May.

“I am proud to be Kenyan. I waited two years to get this,” said Mr Lay.

It was while Mr Lay was waiting for Kenyan citizenship that then Immigration minister Otieno Kajwang’ revoked his work permit in December 2011.

Mr Kajwang’, now the Senator for Homa Bay County, blamed Mr Lay for the boardroom wars that rocked auto dealer CMC in 2011.

Mr Lay kicked up a storm at CMC upon taking office in May 2011 when he accused Peter Muthoka’s company Andy Forwarders of overcharging the motor dealer for logistics services to the tune of Sh1.5 billion in five years. Mr Muthoka is the top shareholder at CMC.

This sparked a shareholder war that caused the ouster of a number of directors and strained the company’s dealings with key suppliers.

The revocation order was reversed four days later after CMC chairman Joel Kibe protested the move as arbitrary, high-handed and was null and void in law.

Mr Lay served as CEO and chairman of General Motors East Africa for a decade and retired in 2011 to join CMC Motors where he served for two years until he quit in April this year.

Mr Lay now leads KK Security’s charge to earn a piece of the lucrative oil and gas market by offering specialised services like offshore security, accommodation, and logistics to mining companies at remote sites and training.

He joins a growing number of past diplomats, expatriates and tourists who choose to settle down in the country and seek permanent residence or citizenship.

The list includes former Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph, former US ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger, opinion pollster Tom Wolf and, Lamu investor Leslie Duckworth, who owns the exclusive Kizingoni Beach Houses.

Fashion designer Ann McCreath now calls Kenya home having arrived in Nairobi more than 20 years ago to work with medical charity Medicins sans Frontiers.

Other prominent people of foreign origin who have settled in Kenya are Dr David Silverstein, the former President Moi’s private physician, investment adviser Jim Dry and Kestrel Capital CEO Andre DeSimone.

Mr Lay 's application was granted on March 20 this year, and subsequently issued with a Kenyan identity card, the ultimate marker of citizenship, on September 3 and can now enjoy all the rights accorded to Kenyans.

The charges for those applying for Kenyan citizenship is Sh200,000 but the process is lengthy and is mostly marred by corruption. The Constitution allows dual citizenship hence Mr Lay can still keep his US citizenship.

The issue of work permits in Kenya is thorny as the Immigration department requires foreigners to show that there is no qualified Kenyan to do the job they are taking up.

The government has also set benchmarks on salaries and age limits for expatriates in fresh immigration rules gazetted last year.

The regulations stipulate a minimum pay of Sh168,000 a month or Sh2 million annually and an age limit of above 35 years for foreigners seeking job permits, effectively shutting the door on young expats.

In 2008, Mr Lay married Ms Mwakalindo, with whom he has a two-year-old child, Terrence.