President Uhuru Kenyatta has appointed Kembi Gitura new board head of the Communication Authority of Kenya (CAK)
Kembi Gitura was until last week the board chair of Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA).
Gitura has been at the helm of the authority for barely two years during which the board was dogged with numerous scandals, the latest one being the loss of billions of shillings in the supply of Covid-19 related materials.
Here is the story
After the exposé titled #Covid19Millionaires on NTV, Kenyans were shocked to learn that people like Richard Ngatia (Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry – KNCCI) among other businessmen were involved in diverting the donations by Chinese Billionaire and Philanthropist Jack Ma for resell to KEMSA.
Kembi, by virtue of being the board Chairman was not supposed to transact with KEMSA however, the opposite is true.
The man who was giving rude answers to senators probing the looting of COVID-19 donations and illegal procurement activities at KEMSA, is a direct beneficiary of the loot.
On being asked about an order he made to the CEO Manjari to sign a contract with some company that had won a tender that was the subject of an investigation by the CEO, Kembi replied rather rudely.
“I don’t know why the Senator is relying on leaked documents and leaked emails. If he had asked me to provide it I would have done so because I wrote it and I own it. Don’t try to confuse Kenyans that I directed the CEO on a tender. That tender had already been won and if Kemsa did not sign the contract within the stipulated time, the consequences would have been dire, I directed the CEO to sign the contract to protect public money,” Gitura told senators in late August.
KEMSA was looted and then when it came to owning up, the CS Health Mutahi Kagwe and his PS Susan Mochache both threw the CEO Jonah Manjari under the bus.
Sh1 billion payments
Our research shows that Kembi Gitura owns Absa Chemicals Limited which was paid Sh21 million in the KEMSA Emergency Procurement for COVID-19.
Kenyanbulletin.com has learnt that this is not the only payment that the former Murang’a senator received in the looting of KEMSA.
Sources say that a company known as Racking System Warehousing was contracted by KEMSA at a fee of Sh959 million. The firm is associated with Chege Gitura, a brother to the board chairman.
There are other firms namely Antarc Healthcare and Armick Limited, also associated with the Gitura, were paid Sh7.4 million and Sh 28.6 million respectively.
In the ongoing investigations by EACC, the agency and DCI should concentrate on the board chairman.
In order to wash himself off his sins, Kembi Gitura has sponsored hashtags online calling his CEO Manjari guilty, but one fact remains elusive to those ‘washing’ this guy. It should be noted that he frustrated ad suspended the Legal Officer Mr Fred Wanyonyi when he advised against illegal procurement activities.
KEMSA has been a rotten agency for far too long.
The front person for the Armick Limited mentioned earlier is a lady known as Roselyn Wambui who comes from Kirinyaga.
In the issue of Kembi, how does one do business with the agency they lead? Isn’t it conflict of interest and a breaking of so many laws?
