Captain William Ruto: Profile of New KPA CEO Appointed by Murkomen

A portrait of KPA MD Captain William Ruto.
A portrait collage of KPA MD Captain William Ruto.
KPA

Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen announced the appointment of Captain Willam Ruto as the Managing Director of the Kenya Ports Authority.

In the Gazette notice signed by the CS on Friday, March 10, Captain Ruto will serve for a period of three years in the position which had lacked a substantive applicant since 2020.

In a subsequent statement, Murkomen noted that Captain Ruto was selected after a competitive process explaining that the new MD attained the highest aggregate score in the "rigorous and intensive" process. 

Captain William Ruto (second from right) and former KPA MD Daniel Manduku General Manager Captain William Ruto address media at a past event.
Captain William Ruto (second from right) and former KPA MD Daniel Manduku General Manager Captain William Ruto address media at a past event.
KPA

Here is the profile of the new KPA boss

Capt. William Ruto holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA), Strategic Management option from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

The new CEO is a seasoned mariner with a career spanning over 32 years in the maritime sector.

His career kicked off in 1991 at KPA as a Cadet Marine Deck Officer carrying out duties of helping in navigation and overseeing the loading and discharging of cargo for several ships plying international routes

The captain gained experience and competencies pertaining to marine operations before eventually rising through the ranks to be a General Manager, Operations and later a Harbour Master.

Besides his MBA degree, Captain Ruto attended the South Tyneside College in England for a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Nautical Science and gained his Master 1 Mariner. 

In addition, the KPA MD has done other short courses including a Port Security one at the University of Maryland (USA), and an IMO course on Port Management and Operations which gave him an edge in the process of picking an ideal candidate. 

He is an associate fellow of the Nautical Institute (AF-NI) and a member of the International Harbour Master’s Association in the UK after having attained the highest qualification as a ship captain. 

Until this appointment, Captain Ruto was the General Manager of the Kisumu Port.

The former Captain was charged with, among other responsibilities, overseeing the operations at the container depot in Kisumu.

a
Mombasa Port managed by the Kenya Ports Authority
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