Kenya Airways (KQ) is a publicly listed national carrier and one of Kenya’s largest airlines, operating passenger and cargo services to destinations across Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The airline is majority-owned by the Government of Kenya and has several shareholders, while a board and executive management team oversee its operations.

Kenya Airways is expected to announce new investors in the coming weeks. Chairman Kiprono Kittony said the airline has received interest from investors in the United States, China, South Africa and Singapore as it seeks capital and strategic partnerships.

Kenya Airways Shareholders

Government of Kenya – Largest Shareholder

The Government of Kenya, through the National Treasury, is Kenya Airways’ largest shareholder, holding 48.9% of the airline.

KQ Lenders Company 2017 Ltd

The second largest shareholder is KQ Lenders Company 2017 Limited. It holds 38.09% of the shares, translating to 2,218,310,169 shares. KQ Lenders (2017) Limited was established by a consortium of Kenyan banks and, as of FY2017, consisted of ten local banks, including Equity Bank, KCB, Cooperative Bank, NBK, DTB, SBM, NCBA, NIC, I&M Bank, and Ecobank. They acquired this ownership by converting their loans into equity in support of the restructuring plan initiated in 2017.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij (KLM) Royal Dutch Airlines holds 451,661,470 shares, representing 7.76% of the total shareholding in the national carrier.

KLM, or Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij, is the national airline of the Netherlands, often referred to as Royal Dutch Airlines in English.

Founded in 1919, it is one of the world’s oldest airlines still operating under its original name.

KLM is a subsidiary of Air France-KLM and a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. Its main hub is located at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

The Kenya Airways Employee Share Ownership Scheme and other private and institutional investors hold the remaining shares.

Other KQ Shareholders

Trustees of the Kenya Airways Employee Share Ownership Scheme 2018 hold 2.44% of the shares with 142,164,558 shares.

The Trustees of the Kenya Airways Employee Share Ownership Scheme (ESOP) 2018 manage a trust that holds shares allocated to Kenya Airways employees as part of their compensation and incentive structure.

1 Kamau Mike Maina 16,099,735 0.27%
2 Shah Tanna, Karishma Vijay Shah-Tanna 3,435,900 0.06%
3 Galot International Limited 2,652,370 0.05%
4 Benard, Peter Wainaina 1,195,800 0.02%
5 Muhika, Peter Njenga 1,102,400 0.02%
6 Other Shareholders 110,198,108 1.89%

Kenya Airways Board of Management

Kiprono Kittony is the chairman of the Kenya Airways Board and took over the position in March 2026.

Other directors include Chris Diaz, David Ndii, Winnie Nyamute, Festus King’ori, Philip Wambugu, Christopher Buckley, Esther Koimett and Alex Mbuvi.

The board includes independent non-executive directors as well as representatives connected to the government and major shareholder interests.

No. Name Position
1 Kiprono Kittony Chairman
2 Raphael Otieno Representative of the Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury
3 Teresia Mbaika Principal Secretary, State Department for Aviation & Aerospace Development
4 Alex Mbuvi Alternate to the Principal Secretary, State Department for Aviation & Aerospace Development
5 Festus Kingori Non-Executive Director
6 Philip Wambugu Non-Executive Director
7 Christopher Buckley Non-Executive Director; British & Canadian
8 Esther Koimett Non-Executive Director
9 Chris Diaz Non-Executive Director
10 David Ndii Non-Executive Director
11 Winnie Nyamute Non-Executive Director

KQ Executive Management

Captain George Kamal is Kenya Airways’ acting Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. He took the position after Allan Kilavuka exited in December 2025. Kamal previously served as the airline’s Chief Operating Officer.

Kamal heads the executive management team responsible for the airline’s day-to-day operations and implementation of its recovery strategy.

The senior management team includes Hellen Mathuka, who serves as Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer; Julius Thairu, the Chief Commercial & Customer Officer; and Fredrick Kitunga, the Chief Information & Data Officer. Mathuka oversees strategy and innovation, while Thairu leads the airline’s commercial and customer functions. Kitunga oversees information and data-related functions.

Habil A. Waswani, a Certified Secretary in Kenya, is the Company Secretary of Kenya Airways.

The airline’s auditor is PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), with its listed office at PwC Tower, Waiyaki Way/Chiromo Road, Westlands, Nairobi.

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Kenya Airways Ownership: Government Stake, Shareholders and Leaders
Kenya Airways Executive leaders. PHOTO/KQ