Democratising Kenya’s corporate governance

For nearly three months, KenGen shareholders had been diligently submitting proxy forms, nominating independent directors in what was being celebrated as a historic first: the inaugural election under the new Government-Owned Entities Act, which mandates that commercial State corporations hold genuine, contested elections for independent board seats.

On Monday this week, as the board sat in the middle of deliberations to formally accept the names appearing on the proxy forms, the atmosphere was shattered by a phone call from the Treasury.