KQ CEO, chairman expected to exit

Kenya Airways Chief executive Mbuvi Ngunze and Chairman Dennis Awori are set to exit the Kenya Airways board by the end of the month.

This as part of drastic decisions to be made by the board in the implementation of the airlines turnaround strategy following the release of an in depth analysis by Deloitte East Africa on the affairs of the national carrier that drove it to its current stake.

Mr Ngunze who has been serving s the national carrier’s CEO from December 2014 will have his position advertised while Dennis Awori is expected to be replaced by former Safaricom boss Michael Joseph who was recently elected to the board.

According to a government statement, KQ is systematically recruiting new talent for key management and board positions.

The statement further indicates that only the board and shareholders can determine the exit of the CEO or board chairman adding that the Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA) was overstepping their mandate by issuing a 7 day strike calling for the resignation of the CEO and chairman.

The government has however gone a step further to issue a directive to KALPA to immediately call off the strike notice terming it as national and economic sabotage.

“We believe we have got a reasonable management of the union who understand fully that if God forbid this airline went down, their employees in particular, the pilots will be the biggest losers,” said James Macharia, Cabinet Secretary, Transport.

CS Macharia further noted that, “Anybody found to have taken decisions which are unlawful will have to face the law. We cannot afford a situation whereby public resources are going to institutions, some of them private institutions and the money is being misappropriated so we are going to take very hard decisions and this will happen in the month of October.”

CS Macharia’s tough talk coming against the backdrop of the national carrier issuing a statement threatening to stop selling their tickets if KALPA did not call off their strike notice that saw them lose Sh200 million following a similar strike in April 2016, threats the CS says could not be actualized.

“We believe that that issue of KQ stopping to sell tickets it will never happen because selling tickets is the core business of the airline,” he said.