President William Ruto has constituted the inaugural governing council of the National Infrastructure Fund (NIF).
In a gazette notice dated March 30, 2026, President Ruto appointed Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi as the Chairperson of the NIF governing council.
The Head of State also appointed the Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, Kamau Thugge, and the Attorney General, Dorcas Oduor, as statutory members of the council.
President Ruto also appointed Professor Benedict Oramah, Faith Boinnet, Paul Russo, and Richard Etemesi to be independent members of the NIF council. The four will serve in the positions for a period of three years.
Oramah currently serves as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Fund for Export Development for Africa (FEDA) and the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE).
Previously, Oramah was the President and Chairperson of the Board of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
Boinnet is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya and currently serves as Chairperson of Kenya Pipeline Company Limited.
She has experience in public sector governance, having served in various State corporations and institutions, including the Privatization Commission.
On the other hand, Russo is the Chief Executive Officer of KCB Group PLC and Chairperson of the Kenya Bankers Association Governing Council.
He has extensive experience in banking and financial services, having previously held leadership roles as Managing Director of the National Bank of Kenya and senior positions at Absa Bank Kenya PLC.
Meanwhile, Etemesi is the Chairperson of Liberty Holdings Limited. He is a seasoned financial services executive with over three decades of experience across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, including senior leadership roles at Standard Chartered Bank, where he served as Chief Executive Officer in multiple jurisdictions.
The NIF governing council will oversee the recruitment of the Fund’s Board of Directors, which will in turn appoint a Chief Executive Officer to drive the operationalisation of the Fund.
