The head of Kenya’s telecommunications regulator resigned Thursday after being suspended last month over findings he improperly acquired and mismanaged millions in mortgage loans.
Ezra Chiloba stepped down as director general of the Communications Authority of Kenya having served since 2021.
“The Board of Directors of the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has this morning, 19th October 2023, accepted the resignation of Mr. Ezra Chiloba as the Director General. Mr. Chiloba resigned yesterday, 18″ October 2023, in a letter to the Chairperson of the CA Board, Ms. Mary Mungai,” read a press release from CA.
Chiloba was suspended in September following a damning audit that revealed “impropriety and gross misconduct” in the acquisition of a KES 25 million Kenyan mortgage loan to purchase a seven-acre residential property. The loan exceeded program limits and was self-approved by Chiloba without proper disclosure of his relationship to the seller, according to the audit report.
Read more: Revealed: The scandal behind CAK chief Ezra Chiloba’s suspension
“As the accounting officer there was gross misconduct of the process to acquire a mortgage for himself,” the audit by CA’s Board Audit and Risk Assurance Committee stated last month.
Chiloba directed the money to his own holding company and colluded with staff to hide details and bypass approval protocols, the audit found. His actions likely violated anti-corruption laws, it concluded.
“This is reasonably construed to be demonstrative of an intent to defraud the authority through a clear conflict of interest transaction,” audit committee chair Jacob Simiyu said at the time.
Chiloba, appointed in 2021, is the latest high-ranking Kenyan official out of office over graft allegations as the government vows to crack down on endemic corruption.
President William Ruto has repeatedly pledged to ensure transparency and accountability.
The CA regulates Kenya’s communications sector and manages frequency spectrum for broadcast and telecom services. Chiloba formerly headed Kenya’s elections commission.
