Ben Gituku has been appointed as the first chair of the independent Communications Authority of Kenya. He is the former chair of the Communications Commission of Kenya, whose board was disbanded following the creation of the independent communication authority in March. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
Mr Gituku is the former chair of the Communications Commission of Kenya, whose board was disbanded following the creation of the independent communication authority in March.
His appointment completes the revamp of CAK’s board of independent directors on May 30 in line with the Constitution’s requirement for a self-governing communication regulator.
New composition is meant to reduce government clout in the board in line with the Constitution.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has finally named the chair of the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) in an appointment that happened outside the timeframe set by the Constitution.
The President has appointed Ben Gituku as the first chair of the independent communication sector regulator.
Mr Gituku is the former chair of the Communications Commission of Kenya, whose board was disbanded following the creation of the independent communication authority in March.
John Kariuki, Nerbet Muriuki and Mr Gituku were shortlisted for the position and their names presented to the President in April, kicking up a storm over tribal bias.
The President was time-barred because the law required that the appointment be made within 14 days of receiving three names from the selection panel.
“We were notified of the appointment late last week,” Francis Wangusi, the director- general of CAK, said Tuesday.
Mr Gituku was at hand to receive President Kenyatta during the launch of CAK.
His appointment completes the revamp of CAK’s board of independent directors on May 30 in line with the Constitution’s requirement for a self-governing communication regulator.
ICT secretary Fred Matiang’i named seven directors through a May 30 Kenya Gazette notice from a list of 14 names given to him after competitive hiring by an independent panel.
The seven include media scholar Levi Obonyo, former Kenya Film Commission chief executive Peter Mutie and lawyer Kennedy Nyaundi.
Others are Wilbert Choge, Grace Munjuri, Hellen Kinoti and Beatrice Opee, who was in the disbanded board of the communications regulator.
The government ceded control of the communication regulator’s board following the announcement of new directors.
The 12-member CAK board will now have three government representatives, the director-general and a chairperson hired through a competitive process and picked by the President.
The composition is meant to reduce government clout in the board in line with the Constitution.
