An insider privy to a recruitment drive spearheaded by Deloitte told the Star that the board is looking for an outsider to replace Bernard Ngugi who abruptly quit on August 4 last year after barely two years at the helm.
According to our source, the board's wish for an outsider may have upset Oduor who has acted for eight months and has put in 32 years of service.
Yesterday, Oduor flatly declined to discuss the matter saying any official position must be sought through the firm's communication department.
''That is an official matter. Kindly contact the company's communications department,'' Oduor said.
The company maintained that she is on annual leave as indicated in its earlier statement and will be back soon.
The Star had sought to know the length of Oduor's leave and if she would be resuming her position.
Kenya Power dismissed reports that it is keen on recruiting an outsider for the MD's position, saying that all it is interested in is a suitable candidate.
''The firm is looking for a suitable candidate, whether an insider or outsider,'' Kenya Power said in an email response.
Early this year, Kenya Power contracted Deloitte to conduct the recruitment exercise. Applications closed on February 28.
The new MD will assume office in the middle of the ongoing reforms at Kenya Power to improve both its business performance and service delivery.
The successor should brace themselves to increased scrutiny from state agencies, the board and the public.
Ngugi who was appointed in October 2019 left the position in a huff accusing the board of meddling in administrative duties.
The board, however, said the embattled former MD had fallen short of targets and had no clear plan for returning the firm to profitability.
Prior to his appointment, another insider Jared Othieno served in an acting capacity after the then MD Ken Tarus was arrested and charged together with his predecessor Ben Chumo for alleged economic crimes and abuse of office.
The firm has had a total of five heads in the past decade.
Kenya Power has in the past decade been rocked by corruption, mismanagement, and power theft allegations, pushing the country's sole power distributor into Sh120 billion debt.
This forced President Uhuru Kenyatta to set up an energy task force that has recommended power tariff renegotiation with Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
The negotiations are aimed at bringing down power bills by 30 per cent before the end of the current financial year. It has already implemented a 15 perfect cut that took effect early this year.
Last year, the listed power utility reported a net profit of Sh3.82 billion for the six months to December 2021, a huge improvement from the Sh138.36 million it made over a similar period in 2020.
As the firm returns to profitability after a four-year dividend drought, the job is well cut for the new acting MD Geoffrey Waswa Muli and a substantial head expected to be announced later this year.
Yesterday, Waswa was holed in a day-long meeting and did not to respond to questions on some of the key initiatives that he plans to prioritise.
''Kindly text me. In a meeting,'' Waswa said.
