Stanbic Bank Uganda, the country’s largest bank by assets and profitability, is expected to appoint Mumba Kalifungwa, currently the Managing Director and CEO of Absa Bank Uganda as its new Chief Executive officer before year-end, ending a complex 12-month succession process.
According to the Daily Monitor, the appointment of Kalifungwa, a Zambian national with four years of local experience, represents a compromise between Standard Bank Group’s preference for international talent and the Ugandan government’s push for local leadership, after the Central Bank rejected previous candidates including Kenneth Mvuselelo Fakudze from Eswatini and Phillip Madinga from Malawi.
The succession journey began in December when Anne Juuko, the bank’s first female CEO, moved to a regional position in Nairobi, leading to interim appointments of Samuel Mwogeza as CEO and Barbara Dokoria as executive director.
The process faced scrutiny, including parliamentary intervention led by Otuke County MP Paul Omara questioning why the position was not being given to a Ugandan national, while government sources emphasized the strategic importance of having leadership familiar with the local context at the country’s biggest bank.