KAA begins search for seven senior managers

The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has begun a massive recruitment drive to fill seven senior management positions that have remained vacant for close to a year.

The general manager positions fell vacant following a management shakeup last year following reports of corruption at the authority.

The vacant positions include GMs for procurement and logistics, operations and safety, finance, projects and engineering, marketing and business development as well as human resource development. The authority is also seeking an airport manager for the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

About 13 senior managers are currently serving in an acting capacity necessitating the recruitment. The board had previously said that the vacant positions once it had hired a substantive chief executive officer.

The KAA board fired three of its senior officials including the former Managing director Lucy Mbugua, General Manager Finance John Thumbi and the acting airport Engineer Christopher Warutere last June over allegations of involvement in an airport bus contract scam.

The board has also on three occasions cancelled the recruitment of the authority’s chief executive officer on grounds of intense lobbying and canvassing by interested parties.

The Kenya Airports Authority board in February picked consultancy firm PwC to conduct the recruitment for the new CEO and three shortlisted candidates’ names have been presented to transport cabinet secretary James Macharia.

Yatich Kangugo has been serving as the acting MD since last year and is considered a front runner to fill in the vacant position.

The intrigues at the airports authority also saw President Uhuru Kenyatta revoke the appointment of former police boss David Kimayo as the chairman of the board. He was replaced by Julius Karangi.

Additional reporting by Michael Karanja