Kenya Airways has appointed Habil Waswani as acting CEO replacing Captain George Kamal who tendered his resignation on Monday, 1st September 2026, citing personal reasons.
Mr Waswani, who is the airline’s Secretary and Director of Legal Services and Regulatory Compliance, has taken takeover as acting CEO effective September 15, 2026.
Kiprono Kittony, the national carrier’s chairman and independent non-executive director yesterday (Monday) accepted the resignation of Kamal who is leaving the airline after four years. “During his tenure, he brought extensive aviation expertise to bear in stabilising the airline’s operations and successfully steered the company through the most recent executive leadership transition,” Kittony said.
KQ said Capt. Kamal “served with commitment, dedication, honour and diligence, bringing in his immense and expansive expertise and experience in aviation in stabilizing the airline’s operations during his tenure as COO.” Subsequently, he successfully led Kenya Airways through the last executive leadership transition in December 2025, and more recently, leading the executive team in the implementation of the airline’s ongoing turnaround strategy.
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Capt. Kamal will continue to be in service at the airline for a transitionary period of thirty (30) days, and will formally exit on 30th September 2026. The KQ board said it has already initiated the process to competitively recruit a substantive holder of the position, which is expected to be completed in the near term.
Mr Waswani is a distinguished corporate and commercial legal practitioner with remarkable multi-sectoral track record, expertise and experience over the past 24 years. He has served with the airline now for over five years effectively leading all aviation and airline operations related legal matters, commercial and corporate law practice, it said.
“As a respected corporate governance practitioner, Mr. Waswani, has had successful stints in various listed top tier banking and insurance institutions since 2004,” it said.
He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) Degree from the University of Nairobi, a Diploma in law from the Kenya School of Law and is a Certified Public Secretary.
He is a graduate of the Global Executive Master of Business Administration (GEMBA) Degree programme from the United States International University in collaboration with the Columbia Business School, Columbia University, New York. In recognition of his contribution and leadership in the legal profession, he has been named in the Legal 500 GC Powerlist, East Africa awards, since 2024 to 2026.
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