Fresh petition filed to remove Kenya Re CEO Hillary Wachinga over mismanagement, staff harassment claims

A new petition is seeking the court's intervention following what the petitioners term as the mismanagement of the state insurer. The petitioners cite allegations of intimidation, micromanagement, financial impropriety and name-dropping by the Chief Executive Officer, pointing to what insiders describe as a troubling culture of fear and executive overreach.

Behind the polished facade of Kenya Reinsurance Corporation, a turbulent picture is emerging. It is a picture marked by allegations of mismanagement, harassment of employees, misuse of corporate finances, and an alleged reign of terror imposed by senior officials who invoke the names of senior and powerful individuals in government.

This is the alleged atmosphere that has landed the matter in court, with a petition seeking the court's intervention to restore good order at the state insurer.

According to court documents, the petitioner, Brian Ochieng, is suing the company's Chief Executive Officer, Dr Hillary Wachinga, and the company's General Manager for Finance and Credit Control, Ruth Ngugi.

In his petition, Brian notes that the duo has "usurped the powers of the board of the organisation and the entire human resource team by unilaterally changing the human resource repository email application from recruitment@kenyare.co.ke to recruitmentkrc@kenyare.co.ke, where only the 1st respondent (Dr Hillary Wachinga, the Group MD) has access."

This, he argues, is in clear contravention of the Public Service Commission Act, 2007, and the Public Service Commission Regulations.

The petitioner further argues that this has resulted in a breach of the company's human resource policies, where the 1st respondent is likely to interfere with the competitive recruitment of staff and compromise the integrity of the recruitment process through conflict of interest, in violation of constitutional principles of transparency and fair competition in public service.

In an interview with a whistleblower who sought anonymity, Citizen TV further learned that following the establishment of the new HR email, the integrity of the hiring process is now in question.

"A communication was sent to the acting Human Resources Manager by the Finance Manager (Ruth Ngugi) informing them of the development to allow the CEO access to the hiring process through a first-instance email address. This raised fears that the CEO intended to control the hiring process in total," whistleblower "John" states.

Following these changes, the petitioner notes a concerning trend where the General Manager "in clear violation of career guidelines for the company has proceeded to issue letters confirming contract staff into permanent positions to employees who have not attained the minimum requirement of a bachelor's degree."

Insiders also allege that since the CEO's appointment in 2023, employees have been subjected to early retirement and "constructive dismissal" — a process where an employee is frustrated to the point of resigning. They claim this has been achieved through transfers to departments outside their areas of competence.

"We have about three members of staff who were either fired or resigned through constructive dismissal. They were either forced out or transferred to positions where they could not fully discharge their duties, so they opted to leave," whistleblower "John" adds.

Whistleblower "Doe" states:

"Transfers have become the order of the day. You are transferred to a department where your competency and skill set cannot be utilised fully. It's like your career progression is coming to a dead end, and that's why you are finding there is a lot of stress. Stress levels are up, the performance of the company is going down, and that's what we really want to fight so that the company can continue."

But beyond the alleged human resource violations, the CEO has also been cited for procurement irregularities.

"The procurement department at Kenya Re is a crime scene. This guy has interfered with the process and made decisions that have negatively affected the company. He has bypassed the Procurement Act and made decisions that are not good for the company," whistleblower "John" disclosed.

Whistleblower "Doe" adds:

"The law gives the Supply Chain Manager the mandate to have an ad hoc committee that is supposed to evaluate tenders. But currently, you will find there are specific people evaluating tenders, and when the manager indicates who they want to be in the committee, the CEO or the accounting officer will remove those names and put in the names he wants for the procurement committee."

The court documents show that Dr Wachinga is also accused of, among other things, "unlawfully reviewing tender durations, contravening tender documents with clear contract durations of two or three years, which are consistently reflected in professional opinions and award letters, and which vendors accept and sign based on the stated contract period."

Dr Wachinga is also accused of breaching foreign travel clearance regulations for chief executive officers of state corporations after allegedly travelling to Singapore for a board training for 13 nights, contrary to the prescribed seven days, with the state insurer allegedly incurring additional unlawful costs.

He is also facing accusations of using the funds of the state corporation to pay a personal fine of KSh500,000 imposed by the Commission on Administrative Justice.

While serving a suspension from his position, he allegedly attended a training paid for by Kenya Reinsurance Corporation Limited at a cost of USD 43,478.19 (approximately KSh5.6 million).

He is also alleged to have obtained loans worth KSh52 million and approved transfers from the accounts of Kenya Reinsurance Corporation Ltd without seeking approval from the board.

Some Kenya Re insiders also accuse the CEO of cultivating a culture of favouritism, tribalism and nepotism.

"There are specific employees who are being targeted, especially if you are competent and they don't want you to advance in your career, or they have someone particular in mind for the position. Decisions are based on ethnicity, favouritism and nepotism," says whistleblower "Doe".

Whistleblower "John" notes:

"You wake up in the morning and ask yourself, 'Do I really have to go back?' In the past, you'd find employees in the office by 6:30 a.m. because they were ready to work. Right now, they come at 8:30 a.m., and by 5 p.m. we are out."

In the petition, the petitioner is, among other things, seeking a declaration that the first respondent is unfit to hold any public office, as well as such orders, directions, declarations and remedies as the court may deem fit.