Former Homa Bay senatorial aspirant lands Uchumi board seat

Uchumi Supermarkets has appointed two new directors to its board, including a former Homa Bay Senatorial candidate as well as a eBiashara Ltd. director.

The supermarket chain board announced on March 11 that it had appointed businessman Fred Rabongo as well as fintech services expert Baiju Shah.

Both have been appointed as independent non-executive board directors effective from February 26.

Rabongo, who placed third in the race for the Homa Bay Senator seat during the 2015 by-election that was occasioned by the death of Otieno Kajwang, has been tapped for being a “corporate business strategist and an astute businessman”, Uchumi said.

He also has experience in advertising, marketing, outsourcing and business development, the firm’s chair John Karani said.

An astute businessman, Rabongo had joined the Orange Democratic Party in the run up to the 2015 Homa Bay senatorial by-election, but quit after failing to land a nomination. He decided to run a National Agenda Party of Kenya ticket instead, placing third behind current Homa Bay senator Moses Kajwang. He however soon defected back to ODM after the by-election.

Rabongo is also a former National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Managing Trustee.

Shah on the other hand is a technology and financial systems expert.

He holds positions at eBiashara Ltd, Telemedia Africa and Tele2media, his profile on LinkedIn indicates.

Having schooled in Kenya where he attained his O and A levels from Oshwal High School, Shah got his graduate schooling in the United Kingdom, with a Computer Science degree from Keele University. He further went on to attain an MBA in Business Administration from Lancaster University.

“The board of directors takes this opportunity to welcome the new directors and is looking forward to drawing from their respective experiences and expertise in steering Uchumi forward,” Karani said.

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