Pamela Mutua, who was appointed the managing director of the troubled Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) in January 2021, has exited the stage in the wake of a Sh16.5 billion edible oils scandal.
Ms Mutua’s position is one of the five senior positions that have been declared vacant as part of a shakeup of the agency’s top officials. Other positions to be filled as per an advertisement carried on Tuesday are those of purchasing and sales general manager, warehousing manager, and counterparts in finance and treasury, and business development.
The government is going after top officers at the agency under investigations over the controversial importation of 125,000 metric tonnes of duty-free cooking oil, with interested candidates having up to February 12 to apply for the positions, the notice said.
Ms Mutua was among senior officials of the agency who were arrested in November last year and grilled by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over the imports saga.
In June last year, it emerged that companies owned by individuals with links to the government were single-sourced to procure edible oils through KNTC.
With double-pronged investigations, also involving the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), going on, Peter Njoroge was catapulted to the helm of the KNTC to replace Ms Mutua in December last year albeit in an acting capacity.
On Wednesday, Ms Mutua said she had been on terminal leave before her contract ended on January 19. She was appointed to the position on January 20, 2021 for a contract of three years, open to renewal.
“My contract ended last Friday. I have finished with them. I am no longer an employee of KNTC,” Ms Mutua told Business Daily.
The 49-year-old said she opted not to seek another term. “You know you are supposed to renew your contract six months to the lapse but I opted not to,” she said.
