National Oil Corporation of Kenya Managing Director Sumayya Hassan-Athmani has been reinstated unconditionally according to a statement from the corporation.

Deputy President William Ruto said in Malindi that Sumayya Hassan-Athmani had returned to her job pending an audit of the corporation.

Sumayya, is a lawyer and  holds a Masters in Commercial Law from Bristol University in the UK. She worked in various law firms before joining National Oil  Corporattion of Kenya 2004. She has also undergone advanced managgement at Oxford Univeristy in the UK. She joned National Oil as the head of legal and has worked in various positions including strategy, corporate affairs and Deputy Managing Director between 2004 and 2007. She was appointred Managing Director in 2011 and is serving her second term as the head of the giant paratstal.

She was suspended at the end of January under unclear circumstances, a suspension that was received with a lot of shock and dissapointment as she has shied away from contraversy despite being a muslim woman professionall. During her tenure, Sumayya has increased the oil marketrers footprint as well as establishing much needed infrastructure to grow the organization and sector. She increased the turnover assess of the corporation up to Sh30 billion up from Sh6.5 billion since she assumed office. She was suspend from her position at the corporation in unclear circumstances.

The deputy president made the announcement on Monday evening at a meeting with the Muslim community from Malindi constituency at the Red Cross Social Hall.

Summaya’s suspension has generated a lot of heat in politics, in gender circles, among professionals and among the Muslim community as her suspension was seen to offend contituencies who drew inspiration from her leadership and work ethic.

Ms. Athmani will remain at the helm of National Oil until the board finalizes the ongoing audit, which will decide her fate at the parastatal.