By Bonface Mulyungi
President William Ruto has appointed former Isiolo South Member of Parliament Abdul Bahari Ali as the new Non-Executive Chairperson (NEC) of the Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA) Board.
The appointment, gazetted through a Gazette Notice dated June 5, takes effect immediately, handing Ali a three-year term at the helm of Kenya’s flagship smart city project.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by paragraph 5 (1) (a) of the Konza Technopolis Development Authority Order, 2012, I, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Forces, appoint– ABDUL BAHARI ALI as the Non-Executive Chairperson of the Board of the Konza Technopolis Development Authority, for a period of three (3) years, with effect from the 5th June, 2026,” stated the notice.
Ali steps into a role that has been vacant since the passing of his predecessor, Prof. Raphael Munavu, who died on April 24, just weeks after being re-appointed to the same position in March 2026.
Prof. Munavu had been steering the implementation of Kenya’s ambitious ‘Silicon Savannah’ initiative before his untimely death, which left a leadership vacuum at the helm of the board.
With the appointment now formalised, Ali is expected to take over and continue driving Kenya’s vision of building a world-class technology hub on the outskirts of Nairobi.
The new KoTDA chair is no stranger to public service, having represented Isiolo South Constituency in Parliament for a decade, from 2003 to 2013, first under the Kenya African National Union (KANU) and later under the Jubilee Coalition.
During his time in the National Assembly, Ali served on some of Parliament’s most influential committees, including the Budget, Public Investment, and Local Authorities and Funds Committees.
Beyond the legislature, he served as the Chief Administrative Secretary for the Ministry of Devolution and Arid and Semi-Arid Lands, deepening his experience in government administration.
Ali also harboured political ambitions beyond Parliament, having made a run for the Isiolo County gubernatorial seat in the past election cycle, losing to the United Democratic Alliance’s (UDA) Abdi Ibrahim Hassan.
KoTDA oversees the development of Konza Technopolis, a multi-billion-shilling smart city project designed to position Kenya as a leading technology and innovation hub across Africa.
The multi-billion-dollar project aims to establish Kenya as Africa’s premier technology and innovation hub by driving job creation, economic growth, and a knowledge-based economy.
