The move to unilaterally appoint Dr Dominic Njeru as the acting Chief Executive Officer at the Consolidated Bank of Kenya is causing a standoff.
This is stalling operations amid fears it may affect performance.
First, Dr Njeru’s appointment has been stalled by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) as he is yet to receive regulator’s nod on fit and proper test.
Deputy director bank supervision at CBK Timothy Kimutai wrote to the Consolidated Bank to register the reservations.
“We bring to your attention provisions of Section 9A of the Banking Act which stipulate that institutions are required to ensure that no person is appointed or elected as a director or appointed as a senior officer unless the Central Bank has certified the person as a fit and proper person to manage or control the institution.”
“In addition, CBK Prudential Guideline, CBK/PG/02, Clause 3.7.3 on Corporate Governance stipulates that no senior officer shall take up his position prior to being cleared by the Central Bank.
In this regard, CBKL is required to submit Fit and Proper Form (CBK/IF 1-2), together with the necessary supporting documentation for Dr. Njeru as specified under CBK Prudential Guidelines, CBK/PG/02, Clause 4.4.3,” said part of the letter dated October 25, 2025.
Njeru was brought to the limelight after a political compromise after president William Ruto summoned him and his brother who was the chairman at the bank Charles Muriuki Njagagua over the impending Mbeere North constituency parliamentary seat.
As a compromise, Njagagua was moved and named as the president’s legal adviser.
Njagagua was appointed chairman on February 10, 2023, but his appointment was revoked by President William Ruto on October 3, 2025.
When he left the bank, he proposed his brother Njeru who had also declared interest in the seat to be named the new CEO going against the norm.
Sam Muturi who was the CEO and who had gotten a new three-year contract had it abruptly terminated with no explanation.
He has since moved to court to protest the move.
In the petition, Muturi accuses the CS Treasury of unlawfully overruling the bank’s board, usurping its statutory mandate, and violating his constitutional rights to fair labour practices and fair administrative action.
In the meantime, Njeru took over the office and the bank car which he used for campaigns in Mbeere North for the UDA candidate Njeru Muthende, despite having not been cleared by CBK .
The bank shook off boardroom wrangles to continue with its financial turnaround, reporting a Sh80.2 million profit for the nine months ended September 2025.
The government-owned lender, which currently doesn’t have a substantive board of directors nor chief executive, rode on interest earnings from Treasury bills and bonds to reverse a Sh131.9 million net loss reported in the same period a year earlier.
The bank returned to profitability in the half year to June this year after more than a decade of loss making.
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