Dan Kagwe is the postmaster General at Posta Kenya.
During his tenure, there have been many corruption allegations levelled against him, but his response, resignation or firing has become hard because he is a member of the system.
Today, Kenyans on Twitter (KoT) are deconstructing him, exposing his ills. The man has overseen wastage, mismanagement of funds and corruption at the struggling agency.
But is Posta Kenya really struggling as such?
Well, in March 2020, an article by People Daily revealed how Dan Kagwe, preying on disgruntled and salary-less staff, launches his own loan app which he ‘forces’ all staff to take loan from at exorbitant interest rates, then he lists all of them at CRB for failure to pay back.
Posta staff are now used to staying for long without salaries. It is appalling.
“…that desperate Posta employees have been queuing to borrow money from InStapesa Limited and One Moja Limited and paying high interests. The two companies have transacted loans worth millions of shillings from the 2,800 Posta employees, majority of them in financial stress”, People Daily wrote
“We are unable to access normal banks for loans because the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) has blacklisted us… we have families and children going to school. Last month we were paid on the 18th and now on the 11th we have not received our salaries,” said an employee .
This afternoon, under the hashtag #PostaYaUfisadi, the other ills of Dan Kagwe is being exposed.
Dan Kagwe is looting Posta. Posta properties being grabbed countrywide and he is getting money cash from branches.
Why? What accountability measures? #PostaYaUfisadi pic.twitter.com/u0jUSK7BbD
— Robert ALAI, HSC (@RobertAlai) August 5, 2020
Back to the corrupt incompetent Dan Kagwe, CEO Posta Kenya, after running the state corporation down for months coming up to Corona Pandemic restrictions, Dan Kagwe now wants the government to pay Posta Kenya employees salaries of upto 5 months #PostaYaUfisadi
— Lord Abraham Mutai (@ItsMutai) August 5, 2020
Soo many govt parastatals have been looted by incompetent people who don't care about anything except themselves. Dan kagwe is busy looting Posta and @mucheru doesn't seem to care. Jayden has to go for this country to move forward.#PostaYaUfisadi
— 🇰🇪 (@JBayanoh) August 5, 2020
Despite all these incompetence, ICT CS Joe Mucheru added Dan Kagwe more years at the helm of the parastatal.
In 2018, blogger Cyprian Nyakundi also exposed the below about Kagwe and Posta
I have ignored all this prints that Githeri Media is saying about Postal Corporation of Kenya. Who employs this journalists who lie to the normal mwanainchi? Shame on you journalists shame on you who have been paid to hide the real situation of Posta. We ask why things are going crazy in the country some blame goes to the media. Even the PS ICT is being duped and lies blindly not knowing the real deal. I had ignored until they said Posta is making money. This is all Lies. Posta Posta Posta the company that I used to call home a few months ago you are killing your people, my friends are crying.
What is happening in the company is bad, very bad. Posta is in ICU breathing its last. Seems the people around the President have not told him the thing that people will remember him by will soon not be there that is huduma which is hosted by Posta in term of offices.
Posta Kenya, a parastatal with over 3500 employees is on its death due to poor management and embezzlement. I start by saying for the people who stand to lose am so SORRY but let us try salvage the little we can. The rot is in an inexperienced and greedy management starting from the CEO.
The CEO Mr. Dan Kagwe brother to the former minister of ICT and former senator Mr. Mutahi Kagwe. If you have statistics kindly go see how many companies this guy has run to the ground. Posta will also be a statistic in a few months if not now. He creates work positions at will and appoints even people who have not qualified. Examples are coming up. The Board seems to be under his control going by the number of personal trips Posta pays for some of them to go conduct their own business. It is very sad posta under Mr. Dan Kagwe has made so many mistakes but he is protected by the Cabinet Secretary ICT for reasons do not know. Mr. Dan Kagwe has a group that they are dismantling Posta with. The group consists of Executive Sec In CEOs office, AGM ICT, GM Payment Services, Manager Facilities just to name a few with this crew they have started fake projects, sold or changed Posta land to personal ownership, embezzlement of monies belonging to third parties ministry departments and agencies under the Huduma umbrella. Even CID is owned by Posta. Bills have accumulated to unseen proportions. The treasury has even resulted to bolting itself so as not to feel the wrath of suppliers who have not been paid for services rendered.
Posta Kenya CEO’s office is a no go zone why? Because of the Secretary, Mrs. Anne Soi this is one iron Lady who plays the CEOs office like her own house. She says who is going to see the CEO if you are not in good books with her you will not get to see him even if it is an emergency. She has her children in Posta there was one who was employed even before she joined college right after high-school. The Son was elevated to a higher position with other deserving people being left out. She is now being groomed for a managerial position which I believe she is not qualified for. The people who deserve it are known but won’t get because she has already aligned everything. She has a tendency of removing people from traveling lists in her favor or favor of her friends or even hides files until it is too late for someone to travel. She works hand in hand with the team that is mentioned above.
I will go through some of the most dangerous departments in PCK…
The mother is procurement this is a rotten dump where anything and everything passes. Where a charcoal dealer (no offense to people who sell charcoal) can supply labels for bags. The kind of suppliers that pass there threshold is wanting, most are relatives and friends to people here. Including Mr. Dan Kagwe son who is a supplier. He supplied dust coats and was paid the same day contrary to the ways of government. The dust coats did not stay for a week they were peeling and when washed they were shrinking. He has continued supplying Posta and has even bought a Harrier courtesy of Posta. Noone raises an alarm how he is a supplier and clearly there is a conflict of interest. Procurement has a department under it called stores this is where a supplier needs only to show up with a few thousands and everything is accepted. Supply of low standard goods is the order of the day. The suppliers collude with the employees of user departments and procurement to give an okay for the products to pass. Most employees in this department should be investigated. Some mentionable are Mr. Nyabola who is the stores who eats in almost everything.
Another dangerous department is finance department this is also a place you have to know people to get your money even salary advance leave alone payment of suppliers. The people who play around here are Mr. Peter Korir who is the General Manager (Currently not in the office due to the presidential order of all finance and procurement heads to step aside) who signs off anything that benefits him. If there is a cut for him then he will sign it off. There is a section under finance called treasury this is where all monies are controlled from. It is run by the iron fist lady Teresia Nyasimi.
She is one of the people who should tell the world where all Posta money has gone. She is untouchable she approves everything that will give her something in the pocket. Case in point the former CEO settlement after he won a court case (which seemed orchestrated) his funds were made available yet employees had not even been paid. Employees’ salary was redirected to pay the former CEO. The department does not pay deductions of loans, sacco insurance etc most employees are blacklisted by CRB due to this. Money is spent on useless things like management and board retreats which they even get allowances contrary to the law that says in you are paid for full board in a hotel you don’t receive per diem. Local and Foreign trips have become the order of the day even when they dont make any sense. Money is no issue when it comes to spending like that. Yet money spent is for other companies who we have collected for like banks and all. That is why KPLC pulled out but they were convinced to come back. Nairobi water refused completely. There are many companies that have pulled out the list is endless. The debt of money owed to companies and suppliers is in the billions. The money may have been directed into a few pockets. The people here that should be on top of investigations are Mr. Peter Korir, Teresia Nyasimi and Mr. Elijah Mumo (who works with Teresia) among others
Other department is HR. This should be were controls and measures are implemented but Mr. John Tonui seems to be having zero control. He is concentrating on fleecing the company through Posta Rangers the football team, which the company “bought” a few years back. Former CEO Major Gen. Husseein Ali God bless this man he had taken Posta to great heights even back to profitability had disbanded the team because it made no sense. The team gets salaries allowances and bonuses yet we generate nothing from them. The current CEO wanted do disband it but seems the money was sweet. When HR does employee promotions they are not usually based on merit they are on who you know or what you pay. Scheme of service is never followed example you cannot be promoted to a higher position without serving a number of years to a position that is below. It is who you know or who is sleeping with who. Or creation of positions via sympathy. Here there people who should be investigated are Posta Rangers management team John being the chair and Jerry Santos the team manager and the rest of the management in HR. Other managers are payroll manager. HR creates positions day in day out promotions and expansion of the structure happens every day. The bloated workforce that exists of paper pushing and people swinging on their chairs is saddening. Seems even the managers have zero control. One manager by the name sakuda seems to not even know what her job she used the brother to get the position by force.
The biggest project right now is to retrench people. This is to be financed by a big loan of not less than 200m. The current workforce has many people retiring it makes zero sense to borrow money to pay people off. Something smells fishy seems people will retire and the company might right off the money as pay off and yet its retirement (my two cents). A thorough investigation should be done even for ghost workers they might be in 100s
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Internal Audit department has messed Posta in many ways. They see the wrong but they actually help in hiding led by Mr. David Fundia (who is acting General Finance) and Ms. Eunice Eboso they have been involved in many cover ups then they are rewarded in kind and monetary. There are involved in buying fake auditing software supplied by a company that sells plumbing items and was not even tested. It was approved by Mr. Sammy Gimoi from ICT. The software was single sourced yet it was around 4m shilling which is contrary to the law since anything above 2m goes to tender. With such things the audit team are not able to really do independent audit on any of the departments. The two should be investigated thoroughly since they have contributed to the downfall of Posta.
The Mother of eating is the ICT department. Mr. George Makori who is the AGM/ICT is running so many projects at a go he does not care where the money will come from as long as his cut is given beforehand. He does not care if funds are available or not. This is the department that thrives on corruption. From the ICT head to the some lower cadre officers. The head of ICT should be investigated thoroughly. It starts from the head who has eaten in almost every new project. To start naming them will take a whole page. Some of the questionable projects include the Leasing of ICT Equipment in which the wrong items and substandard products were supplied but Posta still pays exorbitant prices for them. A Scenario is the Point of sale devices where Posta had requested supply of the modern ones but was supplied with old ones that even the banks are facing off. The cost of the modern ones was 100k + and the ones supplied cost around 30k yet the in the lease Posta pays the price of the modern ones. The supplier through his influence wanted Posta to buy off the contract but the ministry stopped it. Most of the management involved had supported it because they were to get a cut. For projects the plan is usually to get a contract then do an addendum to change the pricing to include there cut this has happened in many projects even in the ERP which has cost more than a Billion to implement. Some other people who are major eaters in IT are Mrs. Lydia Muiyuro she has been in charge of ICT procurement for a long time and has eaten into most previous projects especially computers and many suppliers usually mention when it comes to supplying. She single handedly was able to manipulate the processes to have her preferred companies supply products. Mr. Elvin Amugu he is also one of the largest eater currently in ICT everything brought to the stores he has to be given a cut. Inferior and substandard goods are brought and he signs them off. Suppliers who are to be paid he hides the payments until he is given something. Elvin and his Immediate boss Mr. James Eripon should be investigated thoroughly with how they acquired wealth. Another eater is Frankline Kaane is he has perfected the art of signing off on substandard goods and getting cut out of it. Mr. Sammy Gimoi is another who has eaten from tenders and all. He is used by the Boss to sign controversial payments. Other mentionable names include Mr. Jack Oyiro, Mr. Vincent Mugabe, and Mr. Victor Kinywa. In short ICT should be thoroughly probed since most scandals are generated by this departments. Fake products, Fake Contracts, Fake repairs, exaggerated prices, same suppliers. They are part of the people drying up Posta. Unnecessary products are brought in via some of them and they never reject even when they know it is a failed venture. A good example is a 5m+ website under construction yet the current website is not that old and it also cost a few millions.
Mail department now being run by an unqualified person who rose to the ranks through questionable means. Everybody in the company knows what went down for her to receive the position. This is one of the biggest money earners of Posta but it is being killed slowly by “Innovations” like mpost and enjiwa. Mpost is a fictional product that the developers have to cook some users and make users appear many yet it has very few users. They claim to have many users yet most are duplicates. This was brought up by people from ICT but through threats and intimidation the ICT team took a back seat. The whole ICT was left asking questions. The CEO (Abdul Aziz Omar) and CTO (Twahir Mohamed) of the company threaten and intimidate even the Posta’s CEO saying they can’t be touched because they have connections in the ministry. This two gentlemen should be investigated. The company that provides mpost is called Taz technologies. Posta pumped over 20m in advertising this fake product and it has never recovered even 25% of the money. They have continuously manipulated the management to still remain relevant. No one knows how they got a contract yet there were no test of the product or business case or sign offs. This is the sad part and none asks any questions even the auditors (internal and external).
Enjiwa is a better version compared to mpost though still not a finished product and also a product that does not belong to Posta and any revenue generated is shared among Posta and Simpay. There is no contract between the 2 companies only an MOU that was signed after threats of Simpay suing Posta. This 2 “Innovations” were being developed in-house before the bosses stopped and it went out. This is usually the case in most products. This is usually the case in most products.
Mail has always faced difficulties like Prem was also another failed product which 5m+ was paid and less than Ksh. 10000 was recuperated. The department is quick to run products as long as they see fake figures of amounts they are going to make. This can also be blamed on our strategy team (we will talk about them later.) The team has constantly made losses and seem to not have new ways to contain this they just think of bringing in products. This is due to lack of management that makes sense. When you have people promoted with zero knowledge about the department this is bound to happen. It is sad but with the right management the department would make billions due to its potential. Money that goes to waste in the department is a lot. Trips by their senior management are so many they drain there coffers yet they don’t bring as much. The seniors of the department are always out of office to “sell” yet bring zero sales. Shame on them. An audit should be done for the department to see if there is conspiracy to kill the business in favor of people bringing in other products for them to get a cut.
Courier department in simple words…. Its dead we are waiting for it to be buried by the head Mrs. Elizabeth Mwaura. She pretends to have the best numbers in all management yet it does not translate into money. We make losses in this department that don’t make sense. How do you carry goods of your competitors and leave your goods there?? Who does that?? How do you charge your competitors so little that a whole lorry they can make even a million yet they pay you even less than 100000??? The numbers in term of goods moved will seem to be good but that does not translate to money. We enter into contracts that favor other companies and not Posta case in point Jumia. How can a product move from Nairobi to Turkana at a charge of 100? Where in the world did people learn business? Yet you will see Elizabeth saying we have moved so many goods. Where are the overhead costs? The cost of wear and tear? Who passes this prices? Who calculates pricing? Who is paid to look the other side? Finance? Strategy? The department regarding parcels destined internationally pick the cheapest places delaying customers’ products for even a month and yet that is not what they agree with customers. The department has hard working people who want the best for Posta but the boss is the one killing it. It is sad since the potential is massive. Billions of dollar massive if only a leader who is not selfish is given that seat. It is one of the business units that can rescue Posta. Ems which lies under the same department is also suffering a lot. It is sad but it is the real state of affairs. She seems to be killing the department and none is raising a finger to question. Courier has some of the hardworking employees in the company. The workload is heavy and the pay is in peanuts.
Marketing this is one department that has spent money that has never brought anything back. The department has so many employees yet we have a company on retainer that does all marketing work. Posta has an annual contract with the marketing company but every time they do some work they are paid. They seem to be connected to people inside. These has been the cash cow even with the former CEO he used to have personal connections to companies providing the service. The people who have drained the department are the former manager Mr. Dickson Nyagah (Currently a regional manager) and other people like Mr. Moses Odoyo. There so many General Managers and Managers that supply to Marketing through proxies. Even companies who have zero marketing experience or do things totally different. Mr. Dan Kagwe Son is a supplier to this department. Others include companies that also supply to other departments.
Facilities this is one department that DPP, CID, EACC and all agencies that deal with vices should camp. Parcels of Land and buildings have been changed ownership and others are under fake leases where the company charges less than what the owners actually pay. This is the game that is played by one Mr. Joel Mageto. But was started by his predecessor Mr. James Kahonge who used to perfect the art of double leases and eating money from clients. They have perfected the art of leasing the lands and slowly changing lands to their cronies. There should be thoroughly investigation how Mr. Joel Mageto acquired his wealth and built even flats and having luxurious cars. Another guy who should be looked into is Mr. collo because he seems to be the pointman of Mr. Joel Mageto. The scandals in this department can take down a lot of people even the CEO and some regional managers’ even people in government. This is a department out to finish all the assets of Posta.
The Board of Directors is the biggest flop of all. They are money hungry and only think of their stomachs and pockets. The number of trips they have made are excess. The per diem the meeting allowances and all. They can decide to meet several days in a week and many full board meetings. This in contrary to number of times the board should meet in a year. There expenditure and conference meetings in hotels super cede any recent board of directors. Personal international trips are paid by Posta yet that should not be the way. The board as a whole should be held liable for the state in which Posta is.
Strategy a department that does not know its work. It had been headed by a lady that knew nothing about strategy. This lady used to pass each and everything as long as money is put on her table. Emily Ouya who got the position in unscrupulous ways through the former CEO is also a downfall of Posta by allowing products that drain our resources and never bring anything. The new boss Mr. Michael Okal is a pencil pusher. He will not reject anything since him and the CEO are good buddies. The department core factor should be trying to get us out of the hole we are in and how to make the business sustain itself without losses. They seem to not understand their job. They only know how to blame other departments for their lack of strategic thinking and going for conferences and trips with management and board. Posta should have real strategists who understand what their job is and how to do their job.
Government Business: I dont know why this department exists it is a sham. We have a whole business unit and sales people. Posta does not do any government business nowadays. It is a department that has no meaning. The head was actually fired for corruption related (swindling the company and its customer’s money) but was reinstated when the current CEO was appointed. Employees’ dont know how he came back but we know via influence of high people. Another manager in the same department was involved in bringing substandard elevators that cost the company nail and tooth. The elevators always breakdown until today. They never last a week. She is said to be connected to higher powers in Kenya.
Payment services a joke and a half. Ask them what they do, they will tell you ask ICT. They are headed by one of the CEOs cronies it is a business unit but how they bring business or do business only they understand. For example when you ask a business owner to give you 5 shillings commission but operational overheads can be like 10 shillings is that even business? They change rules for other people yet they had established some standards. Like for banks there is a standard way of doing business with them but it seems they are bending for the sake of Equity. It is total contrast of their core business in which they provide a platform where all banks connect to. They never remit anything to business owners the money they have collected on their behalf. They have a big team that translates to nothing because most business have pulled out. The boss should be investigated in connection with Posta properties when he was boss of Facilities. He should also be investigated during his stint in mails department where he was signing things haphazardly without questioning.
Government auditors I hope DPP, CID and EACC and all other agencies are on their way to arrest guys in here. They are contributors to the issues in the government. They audit then get problems and instead of exposing them they are paid off to expunge. The recent audit saw some major exposes that eventually were removed after millions of shillings exchanged hands. This is the gnome in most parastatals and government ministries and agencies. They turn a blind eye to everything.
I have only touched on the headquarters for now this is being replicated across board in all 10 regions. The CEO cronies are killing Posta slowly but steadily even in the regions.
The majority of the workforce is in the Union. The Union leaders seems to be in bed with the management because they seem not to care about the people. They are always in bosses’ offices where they are paid off or are giving positions in the company to bring their children. The Union should have organized a strike but seems they were given money to shelve the die. Out there the public always blame the workers for its downfall not knowing the workers are the most hardworking especially in the branches but management just kills their moral completely.
Most of the people mentioned above are in senior managerial positions. No Junior officer is willing to speak out due to victimization. Am truly SORRY for mentioning names but it has become crazy for the people in Posta and especially for Junior officers who go without Salary and if it comes there is no remittance to the relevant companies.
After this small email I would like ask the Haji and CID boss Kinoti to come and let it reach Uhuru that the only thing that supports his Legacy is soon go be a myth.
Haji my friends are waiting for you
Kinoti my friends are waiting for you
#SAVEPOSTA
