Daniel Kiptoo Bargoria has been appointed as Director-General for the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).
In a press statement issued on Wednesday, EPRA board announced that Mr Kiptoo had been appointed to the role for a term of three years renewable once with effect from July 1, 2021.
Mr Kiptoo has held the position in an acting capacity since December 14, 2020.
He replaced Pavel Oimeke who resigned in March.
“Mr Kiptoo’s appointment follows a competitive recruitment process in which he emerged top,” said EPRA Chairman Jackton Ojwang.
Prior to his appointment, Kiptoo was the Legal Advisor at the Ministry of Energy and State Department of Petroleum and the Chairman of the Government’s first oil committee.
“Mr Kiptoo has experience in the Energy and Petroleum sectors, with a bias in policy formulation, Regulation and Project and Structured finance. He was instrumental in drafting the Energy Act, 2019 and Petroleum Act, 2019,” Ojwang added.
Read: Daniel Kiptoo Appointed Acting Director General For EPRA As Pavel Oimeke Is Pushed Out
Oimeke, who served as Director-General for four years, has an ongoing court case over bribery allegations.
According to the Ethics and anti-corruption Commission (EACC), Oimeke received a bribe of Ksh200,000 to approve the reopening of a fuel station in Oyugis, Homa Bay County, which the authority had closed.
Oimeke’s first term at the helm expired on August 1, 2020, but he secured another three-year term on July 27 the same year.
However, a petitioner, Emannuel Wanjala, moved to court to block his re-appointment, accusing him of nefarious practices including colluding with illegal LPG dealers, nepotism, tribalism and favouritism.
Read Also: Epra Boss Pavel Oimeke Quits Amid Corruption Allegations
In her ruling, Justice Hellen Wasilwa dismissed Wanjala’s petition for lack of merit, demanding his immediate reinstatement.
“In the circumstances, I found that the application did not have merit and therefore I dismissed it and ordered that the status quo of the first respondent be reinstated immediately as the DG. I had stayed that position because I thought that he had not been appointed, but he has been appointed and rightly so. And therefore he is reinstated as the DG effective immediately,” ruled Justice Wasilwa.
The court also found that the evidence relied upon by the petitioner was obtained illegally, hence, could not be relied upon.
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