KENYA PIPELINE CHAIRMAN PLEADS FOR EXECUTIVE POWERS FROM STATE HOUSE, EFFORT MAY UNDERMINE AUTHORITY OF CURRENT CEO JOE SANG.

 He has reportedly been lobbying the Head of the Public Service Mr. Joseph Kinyua to clip the powers of KPC managing director Mr.Joe Sang' whom he sees as an impediment in his quest for more control.

 

K P C chairman Mr. John Ngumi (right) with CEO Joe Sang'

Kenya Pipeline Company chairman Mr. John Ngumi is on the spot after it emerged that he has been mismanaging the State Corporation, claiming to have the backing and protection of President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Mr. Ngumi, is a non-executive appointee, has been micromanaging the company on a daily basis and misusing his office by intimidating employees, including senior managers who he frequently threatens with a sack, insiders say.

“He has also been misusing the company chopper giving orders to the pilot to take him on various personal errands while pretending he is going on company duty such as repairing the pipeline. In addition, he has retained a company car and driver contrary to government regulations. He is only supposed to be picked and dropped at home when attending board meetings. He is a very arrogant and high-handed person,” said one employee.

He has reportedly been lobbying the Head of the Public Service Mr. Joseph Kinyua to clip the powers of KPC managing director Mr.Joe Sang' whom he sees as an impediment in his quest for more control.

Staff says he has been shuttling between offices of top government officials seeking in his quest to become an executive chairman in a bid to consolidate his grip on KPC.

The chairman is particularly miffed by the fact that he left a plum job at CFC Stanbic only to land in a position with low pay and limited powers.

Some members of staff have nicknamed him a celebrity chairman especially after he appeared on Jeff Koinange’s JKL show, on Citizen TV where he sought to take credit for KPC’s achievements.

His time at CFC Stanbic is also not without controversy. Reports from Tanzania indicated he is among former bank managers being sought over a Sh600 million bribery scandal, relating to a government bond. The Tanzanian government through their Justice Minister  is seeking assistance from his Kenya counterpart  to extradite two of her citizens the government in Tanzania believe will help solve the case.

Ngumi was in charge of the CFC Stanbic Bank’s East Africa investment arm, while Mr Bashir Awale, who is also being sought, served as Stanbic Tanzania CEO when the bond was floated in 2012.