Kenya is moving to operationalize its new National Cybersecurity Agency, appointing cybersecurity expert Dr. Martin Koyabe as chairman of the board as the government steps up efforts to protect critical digital infrastructure and the country’s expanding online economy.
Koyabe’s three-year term as Non-Executive Chairperson began Aug. 21, according to Gazette Notice No. 13506. His appointment is a key step in establishing the agency’s leadership structure.
The National Cybersecurity Agency was legally established on May 15 under Legal Notice No. 89, meaning the latest move is not the creation of the agency but the transition toward making it operational.
The agency is mandated to coordinate national cybersecurity, protect critical information infrastructure and strengthen Kenya’s ability to prevent and respond to cyber threats.
That responsibility is becoming more urgent as Kenya expands digital payments, mobile services, cloud computing, e-government and other online infrastructure. The Communications Authority detected 3.4 billion cyber threat events in the three months through March, underscoring the scale of the challenge.
Koyabe brings more than three decades of experience across ICT, telecommunications, cybersecurity, digital policy and emerging technologies. He has worked on cybersecurity capacity-building initiatives across Africa and served as a Senior Advisor for Africa at the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise.
He has also been involved in the African Union-GFCE cyber-capacity-building initiative, which supports efforts to strengthen cyber resilience across the continent’s 55 countries.
Koyabe is a founding partner and technical director at Africa Cyber Expertise, where his work has included national cybersecurity assessments, strategy development, regulatory advisory and cyber-capacity-building programs.
His academic background includes a PhD in Communication Engineering from the University of Aberdeen, according to his professional profile. He has also undertaken executive and professional studies at institutions including the University of Cambridge and Harvard Kennedy School.
The combination of technical and policy experience is significant for NCSA, whose mandate extends beyond responding to individual attacks. The agency is expected to coordinate cybersecurity across government and the private sector, assess the resilience of critical infrastructure, support incident response and help develop local cybersecurity capabilities.
Its responsibilities include operating the National Cybersecurity Operations Center, supporting sector-specific cyber operations centers, conducting vulnerability assessments and developing technical capabilities for cyber defense.
The agency is also expected to establish a Cybersecurity Center of Excellence focused on research, innovation and locally developed cybersecurity technologies.
For Kenya’s businesses, the agency’s emergence could push cybersecurity further into boardrooms. Banks, telecom operators, payment companies and other critical digital-service providers face growing pressure to manage cyber risk as an operational and financial threat rather than solely an IT issue.
The appointment comes as Kenya seeks to expand its digital economy and attract investment into technology and digital services. Protecting that infrastructure is increasingly tied to the country’s ability to sustain growth. Koyabe’s challenge will be turning a legally established institution into an effective national cybersecurity coordinator.