FEATURED STORY

Wangusi on his way out of Communication Authority

Share
Share

If there’s one person hated most by mainstream private media houses, it is Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) Director General Francis Wangusi, seen as the barrier to fair play in digital migration.

That’s why signals coming from CA that Mr Wangusi could be headed for the exit is juicy news for media houses – especially Nation Media, Royal Media Services and Standard Group – whose TV stations fought what looked like a losing battle for a major stake in digital signal distribution.

The Communications regulator has, in addition, sent Mr Wangusi on leave and yesterday advertised his position, a strong indication that he has fallen out of favour and may not get a second term. Mr Wangusi has helmed the Communications Authority of Kenya for three years. He took over from Charles Njoroge in 2012.

Mr Wangusi was in the limelight recently when the CA forcibly switched off analogue signals despite a request from broadcasters for an extension of the deadline. This led to a TV blackout for close to two weeks, which cost media houses hundreds of millions of shillings in lost revenues.

It is said that Mr Wangusi, whose contract expires on August 21, had requested for an extension of his contract but the boarded favours a fresh recruitment in line with the Kenya Information and Communication Amendment (KICA) Act, 2013, which requires the position to be filled competitively.

The Kenya Information and Communication Amendment Act 2013 that gave birth to the CA empowers the board to hire the director-general as opposed to the previous Act that bestowed the power on the ICT minister, who executed the mandate by picking one of three names submitted to him.

The old law also allowed the board to extend the tenure of a director- general who has served his first term and achieved 70% threshold during appraisal. Under the new law, the director- general serves for a term of four years renewable once.

Written by
BUSINESS TODAY -

editor [at] businesstoday.co.ke

Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow Us

Related Articles
Affordable Housing Project
FEATURED STORY

Govt Puts Up For Sale 4,888 Affordable Housing Units: Here’s The Full List And How To Buy

The government has put up for sale 4,888 affordable housing units across...

Geraldine Sande, Channel Sales Leader for Schneider Electric East Africa
FEATURED STORY

How Working With ‘Glocal’ Original Equipment Manufacturers Can Empower East Africa’s Channel Partners For Success

Channel partners in East Africa, including resellers, distributors, system integrators and panel...

Treasury CS John Mbadi
FEATURED STORY

Understanding Tax Amendment Bills: How The New Laws Will Affect Kenyans

The government has announced several amendments to the existing tax laws to...

Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign & Diaspora Affairs
FEATURED STORY

Inside Kenya’s 60 Years of Diplomatic Journey

Kenya is set to commemorate 60 years of diplomacy this week starting...