Muhoho Kenyatta, Kenya’s President’s brother, was appointed as an executive member of the East African Business Council (EABC) at a Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Kigali last week.
Muhoho Kenyatta, the president’s elder brother, runs Brookside Dairy, Kenya’s near-dominant milk processor with interests throughout the region and owned by the family.
At the council’s Annual General Meeting, Tanzania’s Angelina Ngalula was chosen chairperson, replacing Kenya’s Nicholas Nesbitt, who has served since 2018.
Ms Ngalula is the chairperson of the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation and the Tanzania Truck Owners Association.
Four members from each EAC state were chosen to the executive committee for the period 2022/2024.
Mr Kenyatta will sit on the EABC board together with Kenyans Jas Bedi (Kenya Private Sector Alliance), Emily Waita (Coca-Cola Central, East and West Africa) and Mucai Kunyiha (Kenya Association of Manufacturers).
Muhoho’s appointment comes in a time when Tanzania and Kenya have for the past five years engaged in an on-and-off war over trade in dairy products, including confectionery, with Brookside at times finding itself at the centre of the disputes. John Bosco Kalisa, EABC chief executive, said the president’s brother is not special in the council as all proposals by members will be included in the annual policy advocacy agenda
