‘Hii Sirikali Ni Yetu’: IRA CEO Kiptum Boasts After State House Visit as Board Quietly Extends Term Long Past Legal Limit

Insurance Regulatory Authority chief executive Geoffrey Kiptum is at the centre of a fresh storm over impunity in public office after sources said he has been openly boasting that he will not leave office despite his tenure having expired, invoking proximity to power following a recent State House visit.

Multiple senior officials within the authority told Kenya Insights that Kiptum, whose term as Commissioner of Insurance and CEO legally lapsed more than a year ago, has been using his access to State House to project invincibility and intimidate internal critics, repeatedly declaring “Hii sirikali ni yetu” in reference to the current administration.

According to the sources, Kiptum disappeared from the IRA offices for several days late last year, only for word to filter back that his stay in office had been irregularly extended by two more years, pushing his exit date to February 2027.

“He vanished, then we heard he was at State House. Days later, we were told his tenure had been extended,” said one senior officer, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.

The alleged extension has raised profound legal and ethical questions. Under Section 3E(5) of the Insurance Act, the Commissioner of Insurance is appointed for a three year term and is eligible for only one reappointment of a further three years. Legal experts say anything beyond that is unlawful.

A city law firm has already put the matter squarely on record. In an urgent letter dated April 29, 2025, Bashir and Associates Advocates demanded the immediate removal of Kiptum from office, warning that his continued stay amounted to an illegal occupation of a public office and misappropriation of public funds  .

The lawyers wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury, stating that Kiptum’s tenure expired on February 28, 2025 after completing the maximum period allowed by law, and that any salary, allowances or benefits paid thereafter constituted unlawful expenditure of public money  .

The letter further noted that Kiptum first rose to the helm in an acting capacity in 2016, later serving a full term and a reappointment, clocking more than nine years at the powerful regulator  .

Despite this, insiders say the IRA board has unprocedurally shielded him, with no public explanation offered on how or why the term was allegedly extended. There has been no gazette notice, no public advertisement of the position and no disclosure of any performance evaluation justifying the decision.

Kiptum took over from Sammy Makove and has presided over the authority during a period marked by persistent allegations of corruption and governance failures. In 2023, the board sent him on compulsory leave pending investigations into what it described as legal and other matters of concern. The outcome of those probes has never been made public.

Sources within the regulator allege that instead of accountability, Kiptum has doubled down on political leverage, privately suggesting that his shared Kalenjin background with President William Ruto offers him protection. The claims could not be independently verified, but they have deepened anger within the authority and the wider insurance sector.

Governance analysts warn that the saga points to a dangerous erosion of the rule of law.

“When regulatory chiefs overstay illegally and continue drawing salaries, that is not just an HR issue. It is a corruption issue that squarely falls under the mandate of the EACC,” said one Nairobi based governance expert.

Bashir and Associates copied their demand letter to the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission, the Public Service Commission and the IRA board chair, urging immediate cessation of payments and commencement of a lawful recruitment process  .

As of publication, neither the National Treasury nor the IRA had issued a public response. Efforts to reach Kiptum were unsuccessful.

For now, the embattled CEO remains in office, collecting a taxpayer funded salary, as questions mount over who authorised his continued stay and whether Kenya’s accountability institutions will finally move to confront what critics describe as textbook impunity at a key financial regulator.