NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s President William Ruto has nominated Susan Koech, a career banker who has also served in top government posts, to be the second deputy governor of the central bank, a parliamentary document showed.
The post has been vacant for more than five years after Ruto’s predecessor failed to fill it when its previous occupant left. The bank has been running under the leadership of Patrick Njoroge as the governor, and one deputy, Sheila M’mbijiwe.
The law stipulates that the regulator should have two deputies. Neither the central bank, nor the previous government, has ever commented on the vacancy for the second deputy.
The process of filling it started after Ruto took office last September.
Njoroge and M’mbijiwe’s terms are set to expire in June, meaning Koech could serve as acting governor if their replacements are not be appointed beforehand, legal experts told Reuters.
Koech’s nomination is one of the messages from the presidency that will be read to the senate when it resumes sittings on Tuesday following a long recess, the senate said in the document posted on its website.
Her nomination has to be approved by parliament, which is controlled by Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza political coalition.
Koech holds a doctorate in business from a local university. She previously worked in various positions with local top lender KCB Group for nearly two decades, before joining government in 2018, where she worked as a senior official in two ministries.
(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Toby Chopra)