Ezra Chiloba Suspended From CA
Christopher Wambua was as a result appointed the Director-General in an acting capacity.
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Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) Director General Ezra Chiloba has been suspended.
An internal memo by board chair Mary Mungai seen by Viral Tea communicated the suspension on Monday, September 18 following a board meeting.
Christopher Wambua was as a result appointed the Director-General in an acting capacity.
"Following a meeting of the Authority’s Board held on 18th September 2023, resulting in the suspension of the Director General, I am pleased to inform all staff of the appointment of Mr Christopher Wambua as a Director General in Acting Capacity effective today until further notice. I trust that you will accord him the necessary support," Mungai stated.
Christopher Wambua appointed as Director General of the Communications Authority of Kenya in Acting Capacity on September 18, 2023. /KFCB
Viral Tea could not immediately and independently establish why Chiloba was suspended.
Wambua has been serving as the Director of Consumer and Public Affairs at CA since 2016.
Chiloba's last reported activity was when he raised five concerns regarding the operations of Worldcoin in Kenya, especially its data collection exercise in exchange for giving Kenyans Ksh7,786.
In an investigation handled alongside the Data Protection Commissioner, the CA DG warned Kenyans against providing their personal data at will, especially in circumstances where a financial token is provided in exchange for doing so.
"Since the launch of WorldCoin operations in Kenya, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) have undertaken a preliminary review and noted a number of legitimate regulatory concerns that require urgent attention," stated Chiloba in part.
Among the issues the CA and OPDC raised included the lack of clarity on the security and storage of the collected sensitive data (facial recognition and iris scans). The authority further argued that obtaining consumer (data subject) consent in exchange for monetary reward borders on inducement.
Chiloba joined CA in September 2021 after a competitive recruitment process that saw him beat over 100 applicants for the top job. He replaced Francis Wangusi, whose second and final term ended in 2019.
Before his appointment, Chiloba was a board member of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF), a state agency that provides loans and grants to young entrepreneurs.
He was also the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), where he oversaw the controversial 2017 general elections and the repeat presidential election.
He was sacked by IEBC in 2018 after an internal audit revealed irregularities in procurement during the polls.
