John Ngumi Resigns From Safaricom

John Ngumi has resigned as the Chair of the Board of Directors at Safaricom less than five months after he took over from Michael Joseph.

In a statement to newsrooms, Safaricom said, “In the brief period following his appointment to the board, John has provided a wealth of industry knowledge and vast expertise. He has steered the company through a general election and supported the entrenchment of our purpose of transforming lives through our products and services as well as within the communities we serve,”.

Ngumi’s appointment as Chair of the Board of Directors at Safaricom was widely regarded as political so is his exit. With a 35 per cent stake in the telco, the government has a major influence on who chairs the Board. With the new government in place, it was not a matter of if but when he would be removed from the prime position.

During the Uhuru administration, Ngumi was preferred for top positions in key parastatals and public entities. Before assuming the Safaricom role, he was the Chair of the Kenya Pipeline Corporation Board. He has also Chaired the Board of the Konza Technopolis Development Authority and served as the inaugural Director on the Board of the Communication Commission of Kenya (now the Communication Authority of Kenya, CA). He was also in charge of Kenya Railways Corporation.

Ngumi currently serves as Board Chair at the Industrial & Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC) and is a Board Member at Kenya Airways PLC.

In the new board changes announcements, Safaricom said it had appointed Adil Arshed Khawaja as a Director of the Board.

“He is recognised as a leading name in the Kenyan legal profession and has been globally recognised in various practice groups as one of the most sought-after lawyers in Kenya,” Safaricom said in a statement.

Khawaja, an advocate of the High Court of Kenya, currently serves as the Managing Partner at Dentons Hamilton Harrison & Mathews. He has over 30 years of experience in the legal profession ranging from dispute resolution to commercial and real estate.

He previously served as a Director of KCB Group and was elected the first Chairman of KCB Bank Kenya Limited.