Esther Ngari appointed KEBS acting MD in new changes after sugar scandal

The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) on Thursday announced the appointment of Esther Ngari as the Acting Managing Director in a raft of new changes in senior management.

Ms. Ngari will now step into the shoes left by KEBS boss Lt. Col (Rtd) Bernard Njiraini, who was among 27 government officials suspended by President William Ruto on Wednesday.

Prior to her appointment to top office, Ms. Ngari served as the State agency’s Director of Standards Development and Trade.

This will however not be her first stint as Acting Managing Director, as she also served in the same position last year when Col (Rtd) Njiraini’s term came to an abrupt end following then court ruling that dismissed his appointment as being irregular.

KEBS, in a statement seen by Citizen Digital on Thursday, said it had also resolved to replace suspended Director of Quality Assurance and Inspection, Dr. Geoffrey Muriira, with Bernard Nguyo, also in an acting capacity.

The State agency went ahead to announce more changes as follows; Zachariah Lukorito (Acting Director of Standards Development and Trade), Peter Makan (Acting Chief Manager, Quality Assurance - Nairobi), Mutuma Muthuri (Acting Manager, Inspection - Mombasa Port Office), and Henry Sambul (Acting Assistant Manager, Kilindini).

President Ruto on Wednesday suspended 27 government officials following the disappearance of 20,000 bags of contaminated sugar that is suspected to have found its way into the market despite being condemned and seized by KEBS.

The officials sent home to pave the way for investigations are attached to KEBS, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), National Police Service (NPS) and Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA).

In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, Head of Public Service Felix Koskei announced the suspension of the said public officers, adding that the President had been briefed on the matter, which he termed as the “irregular and criminal release of condemned sugar that had been earmarked for conversion into industrial ethanol.”

The KEBS officials that were affected in the shake-up included;

1.       Lt. Col (Rtd) Bernard Njiraini -  Managing Director.

2.       Dr. Geoffrey Muriira - Director of Quality Assurance and Inspection

3.       Hilda Keror - Manager Inspection, Mombasa Port Office

4.       Liston Lagat - Assistant Manager, ICDN Nairobi

5.       Rono Birgen - Chief Manager, ICDN Nairobi

6.       Stephen Owuor - Principal Officer

7.       Peter Olima Joseph - Inspector, Mombasa