KEMSA Acting CEO Edward Njoroge Njuguna recently vowed to dismantle corruption cartels.
“The era of a Kemsa being regarded as a cash cow is now long gone. With the adoption of revised operating procedures and information technology based processes that focus on minimal human intervention, we are on course to raise our integrity levels,” he told a local media house.
However, the cartels at KEMSA are well connected and their netrowkrs run deep such that such a claim can only invite a ‘wait and see’ attitude.
Mr Njoroge took over from a seasoned medical personnel Dr Jonah Manjari who was captured by the well-connectd figures led by KNCCI President Richard Ngatia.
It is not enough to speak, moving towards action to crush the cartels holding KEMSA at ransom is the way to go.
Among the cartels that have held KEMSA and Ministry of Health by the balls, is a lady named Mary Matu.
She is very powerful, her connections run deep.
In 2017, Ms Matu’s firm Angelica Medical Supplies Limited won a tender worth USD 1.9 million (Sh205 million) from KEMSA for the supply of X-ray machines.
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This immediately raised eyebrows as other firms that had bid for the tender and quoted lower prices were ignored.
“Well-known international household names in medical equipment supplies which quoted lower figures were strangely left out, “pointed out a source.
The firms that were left out include General Electric of the USA which quoted USD 16,000 (Sh1.7 million), Philips of Holland, USD 15,000 (Sh1.6 million) and Shimatsu of Japan USD 15,500 (Sh1.6million).
The Japanese firm has been supplying equipments to medical institutions in the country for some time.
Mary Matu is Nyokabi Kenyatta’s friend.
Nyokabi Kenyatta is Uhuru’s sister who looted MoH through the Sh4.2 billion scandal that was christened MAFYA House scandal.
The scandal
The tender floated by the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) for purchase of 10 Mobile Digital X-ray machines was suspiciously awarded to Angelica contrary to established procurement procedures at inflated cost of USD 190,000 (Sh20.5 million) per machine far above the market rate of between USD 14,000 (Sh1.5 million).
According to tender documents, on December 19 2017 KEMSA paid Angelica USD 1.9 million equivalents to Kshs 1.9 billion at today’s exchange rate for purchase of the digital mobile X-ray machines
During the grand coalition government 2007-2012 the same Matu was a familiar figure in the corridors of KEMSA making questionable supplies that later saw the then Medical Services Minister Anyang Nyongo blacklist her.
But she resurfaced in 2013 after Jubilee won the presidential elections and Uhuru became president. She is said to be a former secretary in the ministry of finance and has interacted with key powerful Mount Kenya figures.
In 2015 she was linked to the lease of Dialysis machines to county hospitals but they are lying idle out of lack of trained manpower to operate them, although she continues to laugh all the way to the bank.
The hospitals include Migori, Iten, Vihiga and Nyahururu. The bogus deal costed taxpayers dearly.
