Troubled utility firm Kenya Power is today set for a boardroom shake-up with shareholders expected to vote for a new board during its annual general meeting (AGM).
Today's AGM, held in Nairobi, will set the stage for the replacement of Kenya Power board chairperson Vivienne Yeda who is set to leave the firm in mid-December after two-and-a-half years at the helm.
Ms Yeda is set to quit the electricity retailer after the National Treasury opted not to support her re-election during the AGM.
She had been tapped in November 2020 to steer Kenya Power's turnaround and had informed investors she will be quitting at the AGM.
An earlier Treasury letter to the company indicated that she may have been pushed out of the board.
In a November 18 letter, Treasury CS Njuguna Ndung'u directed Kenya Power's board to include a special notice recommending her removal at the AGM.
Treasury's majority shareholding automatically means the motion is carried no matter what other shareholders want. With minority shareholding, other shareholders are powerless unless backed by the State.
Other than Yeda, another director who had also decided to call it quits is Yida Kemoli, who, according to the AGM notice, will not offer himself for re-election during the shareholder meeting.
The board under the leadership of Ms Yeda made headlines following actions that were favourable to consumers, such as when it announced it would shelve the push for a tariff hike and would instead work on internal processes and generate savings.
Ahead of the AGM, Kenya Power's acting managing director Geoffrey Muli assured shareholders and Kenyans the electricity distributor's turnaround plan is on course.
A long-serving insider, Muli is betting on new electricity sales, reorganising debt, and diversification to turnaround the firm.
