Details emerge of Multichoice Kenya tycoon owner Steve Isaboke and his link to IEBC and KPMG audit 

With Multichoice having acquired the rights to William Ruto’s inauguration, details are now emerging about the firm’s biggest single shareholder, Steve Isaboke, who is the Defacto owner with shares only second to Multichoice Africa Holdings B.V’s stake.

Multichoice Group top executive Stephen Isaboke is the 30 percent local shareholder in GOtv Kenya Limited, according to regulatory filings.

The multinational Pay-TV provider had earlier revealed it ceded the stake to comply with local ownership rules but did not name the investor who took up the shares at no cost.

Filings show that Mr Isaboke, a Kenyan, holds 30.0003 percent non-cumulative redeemable preference shares and 30.0187 percent ordinary shares in the company.

Multichoice Africa Holdings B.V is the controlling shareholder with 69.9997 percent non-cumulative redeemable preference shares and 69.9813 percent ordinary shares.

Mr Isaboke currently heads MultiChoice Africa’s regulatory function across the continent. GOtv Kenya Limited issued paid-up capital is Sh17.6 million, the filings show.

Multichoice, which runs premium digital satellite pay television brand DStv and mass market-focused GOtv, appointed Mr Isaboke to head its African market regulatory function in 2018.

While Isaboke isn’t particularly active on his Twitter handle, worth noting is that of the few tweets on his timeline, one is about IEBC. The CEO retweeted a post by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission about the results of its KPMG audit.

Isaboke is the first Kenyan to join MultiChoice’s top organ that oversees the overall business.

He joined the firm in January 2008 as general manager for the Kenyan market before being promoted to head the operations in East Africa in November 2011.

Multichoice did not say why it did not receive cash in the deal or if it could get money from Mr Isaboke at a future date.

Companies usually allocate shares to new investors in exchange for cash. In other circumstances, firms may allot shares to settle a debt or in exchange for stock in another company.

In the different scenarios, there is an exchange of economic value.

Under local ownership rule changes that were published by the ICT ministry in 2020, the country’s foreign-owned firms in the communications and mobile money sector must ensure they have a 30 percent local ownership.

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