Nairobi — The fate of Kenya Fisheries Service (KeFS) Director General Daniel Mungai hangs in limbo nearly a year after the Board of Directors approved the renewal of his contract following conflicting advice from the ministry.
Despite Mungai applying for an extension six months ahead of his contract's expiry in October 2024 and receiving the board's backing, including an official nod from Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi after the cabinet was dissolved, the contract is yet to be formally executed.
Mungai was appointed Director General on October 6, 2020, for a non-renewable term of four years. In April 2024, ahead of his term's expiry, he formally requested a four-year contract extension from KeFS Board Chair Noor Musa.
The chairman wrote to the then Cabinet Secretary for Mining on May 14, 2024, who responded by affirming that Mungai's term would end on October 5, 2024.
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"Responding to the request for renewal of the Contract of Mr. Mungai as the Director General for KeFS the Ministry will not renew the contract of the incumbent Director General. The Ministry would advise the Board on the modalities of the recruitment process of the Director General," the Ministry revealed.
However, just weeks later, on July 11, 2024, President William Ruto dissolved the cabinet, handing oversight of the fisheries docket to Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi.
On July 22, the KeFS Board recommended a renewal, and Mudavadi gave his concurrence via a letter dated August 1, 2024.
Ignoring the earlier position taken by the Mining Ministry, the board moved forward with its recommendation.
But when the cabinet was reconstituted and Hassan Joho appointed cabinet secretary on August 27, 2024, his office advised the board to advertise the DG position instead.
In response, Chair Noor Musa informed the CS that a board decision had already been made.
The former CS issued a temporary six-month extension to Mungai from October 6, 2024, pending a fresh recruitment process.
However, on March 10, 2025, the board canceled the advertisement, citing the need for further consultations.
"It is worth noting that the Board sought the Prime Cabinet Secretary's advisory in filling the Position of the Director General in disregard of the advisory from the then Cabinet Secretary who had guided and advised that the Ministry will not renew the contract of the incumbent Director General," it added.
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In a letter dated March 4, 2025, the State Corporations Advisory Committee advised the board to proceed with the recruitment process.
But CS Joho later told Parliament that the committee had been requested to hold off pending further guidance.
The drawn-out process now threatens to affect stability at the Kenya Fisheries Service, even as questions grow over the governance and independence of state corporations when leadership transitions hang unresolved.
