The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is a crucial institution in the country responsible for formulating monetary policy.
CBKS promotes financial stability; an effective and efficient payment, clearing and settlement system; formulates and implements foreign exchange policies.
Further, Central Bank is mandated to formulate and implement monetary policy that promotes price stability, fosters liquidity, solvency and stability of the banking sector, issue currency notes and coins, and provide banking services to the Government, commercial banks, and other financial institutions.
The Central Bank of Kenya was established by an Act of Parliament of March 24, 1966, and opened its doors to the public in September the same year.
The Bank is now anchored in the Constitution under Article 231.
Dr. Kamau Thugge is the current and the tenth Governor of the CBK and assumed the office on June 19, 2023.
Notably, Dr. Thugge took the position which has been held by nine other individuals.
CBK Governors wield massive power. So, what happens when one someone leaves the office? How is life? What are some of the former CBK Governors doing?
Patrick Njoroge
Patrick Njoroge was the ninth Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and held the position in office since June 2015 to June 2023.
During his tenure, oversaw a significant overhaul of the banking system in Kenya, including the launch of the first Kenya Banking Sector Charter.
He also led the country in the launch of the new generation of currency banknotes and coins, thus fulfilling a much-anticipated constitutional requirement.
Dr. Njoroge facilitated the growth of the Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprise sector, which has been the engine of growth of the Kenyan economy.
Dr. Njoroge joined CBK after a 20-year career at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, DC.
Prior to his appointment as Governor, Dr. Njoroge was Advisor to the IMF Deputy Managing Director from December 2012.
Here, his responsibilities included assisting in overseeing the IMF’s engagement with a large swath of IMF members.
Further, he served as Deputy Division Chief in the IMF’s Finance Department (2006-2012), IMF’s Mission Chief for the Commonwealth of Dominica (2005-2006) and in other capacities since 1995.
Prior to joining the IMF, Dr. Njoroge worked as an Economist at the Ministry of Finance (1993-1994) and as a Planning Officer at the Ministry of Planning (1985-1987).
In his academic career, Dr. Njoroge holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University (1993), a Master of Arts in Economics (1985) and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics (1983) from the University of Nairobi.
In addition, Dr. Njoroge’s professional and research interests lie in Macroeconomics, Economic Policy, International Finance, Development Economics, Econometrics and Monetary Policy
Dr. Njoroge began his second four-year term in June 2019. He was appointed to the UN Task Force on Digital Financing by Secretary General Antonio Guterres in November 2018. He left CBK in June 2023.
Njuguna Ndung’u
Professor Njuguna Ndung’u served as the eighth Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya for two consecutive four-year terms, from March 2007 until March 2015.
Currently, Prof. Ndung’u is the Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury & Economic Planning.
He was appointed Cabinet Secretary by President William Samoei Ruto on September 27, 2022.
Prior to the current appointment, Prof. Ndung’u was serving as the Executive Director of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC).
Prof. Ndung’u has been a member of the Global Advisory Council of the World Economic Forum and Visiting Fellow of Practice at Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University.
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In addition, he was Director of Training at AERC, Program specialist at IDRC and Team Leader in Macro-modelling at the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis.
Ndung’u is an associate professor of economics at the University of Nairobi, Kenya and the immediate former Governor, Central Bank of Kenya.
He holds a PhD in economics from University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Also, he is a Member of Brookings Africa Growth Initiative and the Advisory Committee of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.
As a member, he participates in coordination of financial inclusion policies in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and is Senior Advisor for the UNCDF-based Better Than Cash Alliance.
Dr. Andrew Mullei’s
Dr Mullei was appointed Chairman and Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya for a four-year term from 4th March 2003.
His tenure was characterized by measures to promote greater efficiency and effectiveness of the payment, clearing and settlement system.
The CBK implemented the Kenya Electronic Payments and Settlement System (KEPSS), the country’s Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System in 2005.
Implementation of KEPSS mitigated the risks associated with the previous paper-based inter-bank settlement system.
Further, he oversaw the operationalization of the Monetary Policy Advisory Committee (MPAC) in 2004 and the introduction of the Central Bank Rate (CBR) in 2006.
Afterwards, he became the Secretary General of the Association of African Central Banks.
He left the African Centre for Monetary Studies in 1993 to take up a new job as Regional Director for Africa at the International Center for Economic Growth (ICEG) in San Francisco.
In 1999 he resigned from ICEG to set up the African Centre for Economic Growth in Nairobi as founder Executive Director.
Further, he also served as Chairman and Director for several other companies among them the SOFGEN Africa Limited, the Kenya Seed Company Limited the Epass International Limited Akay Investments Limited and Info Systems Solutions Limited.
Currently, he lives with his wife and children in Nairobi.
Micah Cheserem
Mr. Micah Cheserem was appointed Governor in July 1993, at a time when the economy was facing some serious challenges.
This included; high inflation and high interest rates, low reserves, and a volatile exchange rate.
The CBK took decisive steps to restore stability in the financial sector, which included amending the Central Bank of Kenya Act, 1996.
Further, CBK was granted operational autonomy in the conduct of monetary policy and including price stability as one of CBK’s primary objectives.
The CBK also began the first steps towards modernizing the National Payments Systems, with the automation of the Nairobi Clearing House in 1998.
Cheserem was appointed chairman of the Capital Markets Authority board of directors in February 2009.
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However, he resigned from this post in 2011 to head the Commission on Revenue Allocation, which was newly established and charged with sharing out the national budget revenue to the central government and the 47 counties created under the 2010 constitution.
Currently, Chaserem practices large scale farming in his 50- acre Limpompo farm in Uasin Gishu County.
He started farming in 2017 investing over Ksh.2 million in planting avocado seedlings.
