East African Breweries Plc has announced the resignation of its Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director, Risper Ohaga, effective June 30, 2026, ending a six-year tenure that began in February 2020.
- •The brewer said Ohaga will step down to pursue interests outside the group, with succession arrangements to be announced separately.
- •She previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Barclays Bank Zambia and held regional internal audit leadership roles across Africa within the Barclays Group.
- •Her early career was at KPMG Kenya, where she worked in audit and advisory roles.
Ohaga joined EABL at the onset of the Covid-19 shock, taking charge of group finance operations as operating cash flows, funding access, and balance sheets across the region came under pressure. During her tenure, EABL said she led balance-sheet optimization, strengthened financial controls and governance, and maintained funding continuity through a period marked by currency volatility and rising interest rates. She was also credited with deepening investor engagement and building internal finance capability.
Financial disclosures show a clear deleveraging arc over the latter part of her tenure. Group borrowings rose during the pandemic, increasing from KSh 44.94Bn in FY2020 to KSh 46.35Bn in FY2021, before peaking at KSh 47.96Bn in FY2024. In FY2025, total borrowings fell sharply to KSh 39.32Bn, an 18 percent year-on-year reduction. Non-current bank loans declined from KSh 30.43Bn in FY2024 to KSh 23.82Bn in FY2025, while reliance on short-term funding eased. Bank overdrafts, which stood at KSh 3.93Bn in FY2020, were effectively eliminated by FY2025, signaling tighter liquidity management and refinancing discipline.
Alongside her executive responsibilities at EABL, she holds non-executive directorships at I&M Bank and APA Insurance, appointments taken up in 2023 and 2022 respectively.
