BARONS OF POWER

A small group of powerful politically-connected tycoons controls billions in the insurance industry, writes John Kamau

Formerly Alico until it was acquired by CFC.

Kenya’s multi-billion shillings insurance industry is in the hands of a few politically connected ex-politicians and suave businessmen who sit on the boards either as chairmen or directors.

Investigations by The Sunday Standard show that the insurance industry has been a soft target for the well connected to make a quick buck.

As the companies continue to flourish and publish their annual financial statements, it emerges that the ownership of the industry reads like who is who in Kenya.

Although some of the best-known names have not been influencing how their companies access business, it is common knowledge in the insurance industry that invoking some of the names means or used to mean instant business.

And why not?

Since the Jomo Kenyatta and Moi regimes, those close to the presidency were able to build empires that revolved around the insurance industry and the Kibaki presidency is no exception.


Philip Ndegwa

The most notable success story in the 15-year Kenyatta rule through Moi and now Kibaki was the late Phillip Ndegwa, who was Kenyatta’s Finance Permanent Secretary and later on — from 1982 — Governor of Central Bank of Kenya.

Ndegwa’s family has built a fortune through the Insurance Company of East Africa (ICEA), which was incorporated in November 1964 with a share capital of less than Sh4 million.

Today ICEA is one of the best performing wholly Kenyan insurance companies. The Ndegwa family also owns ICEA building in Nairobi’s Kenyatta Avenue, Ambank House on University Way, Riverside Park with 150 apartments in Chiromo, the high cost Riverside Gardens on Chiromo Road and some 42 apartments known as St Austin Gardens off James Gichuru Road in Nairobi.

Other businesses associated with ICEA are Greenwood Lane Apartments in Mombasa and Mombasa’s Maritime Centre among many other single properties in Muthaiga and near Nairobi’s State House.

The Ndegwa family also owns Lion Insurance of Kenya, which is headed by James Ndegwa via Ndegwa’s flagship, First Chattered Securities.

By striking it rich via the insurance business, Ndegwa left many a politician eager to try their hands in the money-spinning empire. It is from Ndegwa’s experience that insurance became the target of those close to power.

Copycats have been many. No wonder when Narc came to power, Dr Chris Murungaru and Solicitor General Wanjuki Muchemi’s co-owned Canopy Insurance moved to expand its territory.

Because of the political heat that surrounds their two offices, Murungaru and Muchemi have of late erased their names from directorship of the company which is now held by Suntra Stocks as nominees.

Of the Kenyatta family, the best-known insurance business has been Blue Shield is run by Beth Muigai, the wife of the late Peter Muigai Kenyatta, a one time MP for Juja and assistant minister for Foreign Affairs.

Initially, during the Kenyatta era, Andrew Ngumba, a former Nairobi mayor, had some interests in Blue Shield, but this was because Beth Muigai also happened to be Ngumba’s sister.

Mama Ngina Kenyatta used to own shares in the First Assurance Company but industry insiders say she owns no interests in the company today. The Kenyatta family also owned Fairway Insurance Brokers, which has since closed down.


Jeremiah Kiereini
Of the Kenyatta era top shots, others who had interests in the insurance industry include former Attorney General Charles Njonjo and once-powerful head of civil service and secretary to the Cabinet, Mr Jeremiah Kiereini, who in 1991 acquired the controlling interest in Heritage AII Insurance Company through Credit Finance Corporation, a company in which they still have interests.

Originally the management of the parent Heritage Insurance Company — before it merged with African International Insurances in 1997 to form the modern day Heritage AII Insurance — were Jeremiah Kiereini, Julius Gecau, a former chairman of Kenya Power and Lighting, Ben Gethi, a former Commissioner of Police, and businessmen Madataly P Manji, P K Jani and E Bristow.

Njonjo and Kiereini today are directors of Heritage AII Insurance, the highest rated insurer in Kenya, although during the Moi presidency, Mr Joshua Kulei, Moi’s aide, is also a director.

Today Heritage is the second largest non-life insurance underwriter after Kenindia. It is also the second largest underwriter of life-business after Ndegwa’s ICEA.

The most interesting turnaround in the last few months is how Heritage, now managed by P K Jani, acquired Alico’s life business worth Sh6 billion and renamed it AIG. Elsewhere, the directors have ploughed their money into three insurance companies: Heritage Tanzania Limited, Strategies Insurance Tanzania Limited and Allianz Tanzania Limited.


Charles Njonjo
Exits Njonjo, enters another Kenyatta era magnate, Mr Joe Wanjui, who is also an insider in the Kibaki government. Wanjui, a former chairman of the giant East Africa Industries and now Chancellor of University of Nairobi is a director of UAP Provincial Insurance, one of the largest insurance companies in Kenya that he owns together with business magnate Chris Kirubi.

Before the Wanjui group took a controlling stake in the company in February 2001, UAP, an acronym for Union Des Assurance des Paris, was 60 per cent owned by AXA Insurance UK Plc and had a total asset base of Sh1.9 billion.

Kirubi got into the picture in 2001 after Acacia Fund, the first venture capital fund licensed by the government, bought 20 per cent shares in UAP. The company has recently moved to the Ugandan market where it last October acquired a majority stake in the country’s United Assurance Company.

Another company that has had links with the political elite is First Assurance Company, which is headed by Mirabeau H. Dagama Rose, who is also the chairman of Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) where the Kenyatta family has a stake. Muhoho Kenyatta sits on the board of CBA but there is no evidence that CBA has links to First Assurance.

Kenya’s Vice President, Mr Moody Awori, has an interest in the Mercantile Life and General Assurance, which is a subsidiary company of the East African Building Society (EABS) Group which was founded in 1959 by the late Lallit Pandit with Sh5,000. Awori is a director of EABS, an association that started some 43 years ago, when EABS — read Pandit — lent Awori Sh25,000 to purchase a house in Lavington where the vice-president still lives.

Another of Kibaki’s insiders who is in the insurance business is Eddie Njoroge, the Managing Director of KenGen, and Sam Kamau. They have shares in Royal Insurance.

Cabinet minister Njenga Karume owns Pelican Insurance, although he is said to have little interest in its running often concentrating on the beer business while his colleague, Mr Njeru Ndwiga, has interests in Secular Insurance which was recently in the news after it won tenders in firms under his ministry.

The Aga Khan is also in Kenya’s business circles through the Jubilee Insurance, one of the oldest having opened doors in 1937 and which has of late expanded to Mauritius, Tanzania and Uganda.

With an authorised capital of Sh180 million, Jubilee Insurance has the highest shareholders’ funds in the Kenyan insurance industry and is quoted on the NSE. But the majority of the shares are owned by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED).

One time Alego-Usonga aspirant Edwin Yinda owns Liaison Insurance Brokers situated at State House Road’s Liaison Centre. Yinda is married to former Coast Provincial Commissioner Eliud Mahihu’s daughter, the former Sally Mahihu, and is a well-known Kanu activist in Nyanza.

Pius Ngugi of Thika Coffee Mills is a major shareholder in Kenya Alliance although a Mr Bill Martin holds a few shares.

Another major player in the sector is Nyeri-born Ashok Shah, the former chairman of the Association of Kenya Assurers who has a stake in APA Insurance together with a long-time Charles Nyachae ally, Mr John P. N. Simba, who is chairman.

Simba is today the chairman of the Nairobi University Governing Council. Last year, APA announced a pre-tax profit of Sh44 million.


The ICEA building which belongs to Insurance Company of East Africa

The company was formed following a merger between Pan Africa Insurance and Apollo Insurance companies. Simba is a former non-executive chairman of the National Bank of Kenya.

Business magnate Chris Kirubi has interests in AON Minet through the shares he owns at ICDC, where 15.66 per cent of ICDCI shares are registered under his name, another 6.02 per cent under Kiruma International and 5.47 per cent under International House Limited associated with him. He also sits on the board of UAP Insurance with Joe Wanjui.

Bethwel Mareka (BM) Gechaga is also a well-known businessman of the Kenyatta era. A former chairman of BAT (Kenya) Limited, Gechaga is today associated with Gateway Insurance Company.

Another tycoon in the industry is Stanley Munga Githunguri, the former chairman of National Bank of Kenya who today runs Geminia Insurance Company.

A multi-millionaire, Githunguri is the owner of Nairobi’s Lillian Towers and has twice tried his hand at the Kiambaa seat on a Kanu ticket. Another ex-banker with interest in the insurance is Ahmed Abdalla, who is the chairman of Corporate Insurance Company.

Abdalla sits on the board of Transparency International Kenya Chapter and is a former Executive Chairman of the Kenya Commercial Bank, an Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund and one time Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya.

Former Coast PC Eliud Mahihu owns Madison Insurance. White Corporate Insurance was initially owned by the late businessman Mohammed Aslam and Prof George Saitoti was believed to own shares in the company.

Jimna Mbaru, a pioneer African stock trader and former chairman of the Nairobi Stock Exchange, today runs Occidental Insurance of which he is the chairman.

Mbaru, who vied for the Starehe seat on a Safina ticket in 2001, is the brains behind Dyer and Blair Investment Bank.

Boma Insurance is associated with a brother to the Director General of National Security Intelligence Service, Wilson Boinett.

Boma was in the news last year when it appealed during the tendering of insurance to the Kenya Police Airwing forcing the Office of the President to re-tender.

Although Mathira Kanu aspirant Peter Kuguru used to have an interest in Invesco Insurance, he has since sold his shares.

In the company that had insured City Hall before one of the wings burnt down in 2002.

In Parliament, P G Muriithi, the Nyeri Town MP, is associated with Consolidated Insurance and is said to have done roaring business during the Kanu days.

Another company that performed well was Kabage and Mwirigi, which is associated with Karanja Kabage.

Kabage is also the chairman of First Reinsurance Brokers and is remembered for leading a consortium of entrepreneurs who bought Stagecoach Bus Company in 1999 together with former Kenya Power and Lighting Company chief executive Samuel Gichuru and Mr Stanley Murage, a former PS for Transport and Telecommunications who is now the policy adviser to President Kibaki.

Another Kanu supporter with an interest in Insurance is Paul Gogo, who runs Sifa Insurance Brokers on Nairobi’s Lenana Road.

Kisii politician Leo Matundura runs Lema Insurance Brokers and was a 1997 runner-up in the Kitutu-Chache by-election on a Ford Kenya ticket.

Rumaku insurance Brokers is run by Ruth Kulundu, a relative of Cabinet minister Dr Newton Kulundu, while Prime Mover Insurance Brokers is headed by Titus Ngahu, an NAK activist and former Kenyatta University student leader. It is believed to be associated with key personalities in the Mt Kenya region.

Although June Moi used to run two companies during her father’s presidency, they have since closed shop. The two are Liberty Insurance and Simba Insurance.

Other high profiled companies that have closed shop include Ajay Shah’s Access Insurance and Lake Star Insurance associated with politician and former nominated MP, Ezekiel Barngetuny.

And the list is far from exhaustive. With only 212 licensed insurance brokers last year, and 34 insurance companies in Kenya, the control of this lucrative sector is, however, left to those who have muscle in and outside the corridors of power.

BARONS OF POWER