President William Ruto has nominated Kamau Thugge as the new Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), to take over from Patrick Njoroge.
Dr Thugge is currently the senior adviser and Head of Fiscal Affairs and Budget Policy at State House. He was previously Principal Secretary at the National Treasury in former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration, but was forced out amid graft investigations involving former Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich and the multi-billion shilling Kimwarer and Arror dam projects in Elgeyo Marakwet. Thugge was cleared of any wrongdoing in 2021.
Among other roles he has previously held are the Head-Economic Affairs Department at International Monetary Fund (IMF), Secretary, Treasurer & Non-Executive Director at Kenya Reinsurance Corp. Ltd, Secretary at Kenya Revenue Authority and Secretary of The Capital Markets Authority. He is the holder of a doctorate and a graduate degree from The Johns Hopkins University and an undergraduate degree from The Colorado College.
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Thugge is set to take over from Njoroge, who was nominated to be the governor of the Central Bank of Kenya by former President Uhuru Kenyatta in June 2015. Njoroge has steered the Central Bank amid a fintech boom in Kenya, with notable moments including digital lending regulations. 2 banks, Imperial Bank and Chase, went into receivership during his tenure. Other challenges have included dollar shortages, with the Shilling falling to record lows against the Dollar over the past year.
In November 2018, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres appointed Njoroge to the United Nations Task Force on Digital Financing of Sustainable Development Goals.
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