” Pursuant to the provisions of Section 5 (1) of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation Act, I’m Pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Naim Bilal Yaseen as the Managing Director of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, a State Corporation charged with the public service broadcasting function in Kenya.
Dr. Bilal earned his appointment following a competitive recruitment process initiated by the Board of the Corporation in 2018 and conducted with the assistance of PriceWaterHouse Coopers. He emerged the best candidate in a field of over 35 candidates who applied for the position, leading to interviews of shortlisted applicants on January 24, 2019.
The new MD has a wealth of over 29 years’ experience in media and communication
management, gained in the private and public sectors in Kenya. Until his appointment, Dr.
Bilal was the Acting Director of Information in the Government, under the Ministry of
Information, Communications and Technology. Previously, he served as the Director of Public Affairs and Communication in the Judiciary.
In the private sector, Dr. Bilal worked for the Nation Media Group for 19 years, where he rose to the position of Managing Editor / News Manager in both the Print and Broadcasting Divisions of the Company. Before joining the Government in 2009, he served as the
Director of the House Live Broadcasting Project in the National Assembly, under the
Parliamentary Strengthening Project which was co-implemented by the State University of New York (SUNY Kenya).
Dr. Bilal holds a PhD in Communications Studies from Moi University and a Masters degree in Communications Policy from City University, United Kingdom. As the incoming Managing Director, Dr. Bilal will be expected, together with the
management team and the board, to develop a turn around strategy to wake up the sleeping giant that The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation is.
Specifically, the new Managing Director will be expected to ensure that the broadcaster
becomes the leading choice of information and news for all Kenyans, across its various
broadcast channels. On top of this, he has been tasked to ensure that KBC ramps up its
production capacity and work with local content producers to ensure we have quality Kenyan content is availed through its channels.
Being a signal distributor for free to air digital TV channel, Dr. Bilal will be expected to work with the industry to guarantee improved and efficient distribution of TV content that can be received across the country.
Pursuant to Section 11 of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation Act, the Managing Director of KBC is vested with the control and executive management of the Corporation, and discharges these responsibilities subject to the directions of the Board.
The Government, through the parent Ministry, is committing to provide all the necessary support required to ensure that the national broadcaster regains its glory of days before.
I congratulate Dr Bilal on his appointment and pledge the Government, and the Board’s
support, as he takes up this challenging but exciting responsibility.
