Suspended Kemsa managing director Jonah Manjari on Wednesday claimed that some of the agency’s board members requested commitment letters to supply Covid-19 kits.
In his submissions to the Public Investments Committee of the National Assembly, Manjari named Joel Gesuka as having sought to supply kits to Kemsa.
He told the team chaired by Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir that the board official sought to supply test kits through a company called Villasurgical Limited.
Manjari further dismissed claims by the board that they were not aware of the procurement, which has left the agency with over Sh6.2 billion goods wasting away in stores.
He said there was pressure from various quarters to the extent he was sidelined in communication at some point.
Manjari alleged that board chairman Kembi Gitura visited the offices when the commitment letters were being issued.
PIC heard that suppliers queued at Kemsa offices for the commitment letters even as more details on the scandal that shocked Kenyans continue to emerge.
“The chairman did not bring any request but used to come and have discussions with me in the office on the supplies,” Manjari said.
“He saw people queuing for commitment letters and could caution us that the EACC would come to probe the supplies and thus asked that we do the right thing,” the surgeon said. He asked the MPs to ask for CCTV recordings of people who queued to get commitment letters.
Manjari further indicated that there was no official memo stopping further issuance of commitment letters, saying directors don’t issue memos to one another.
He dismissed the notice by procurement manager Charles Juma, which was to the effect that the agency stopped further requests for supplies.
“We don’t write memos to one another as directors. Furthermore, we don’t do memos on letterheads. The purported letter by Juma was an afterthought after investigators came knocking,” the suspended MD said.
Manjari said the board was furnished with information on the ongoings of the Covid-19 procurement through board papers. “We used to update them,” he said.
Ruaraka MP T.J Kajwang asked Manjari to explain what stopped them from calling board members to a meeting, yet he was the secretary.
“What stopped you from calling the board to a meeting so that you share responsibility in the decision around the Sh11 billion procurements?” the MP asked.
But Manjari said this was not explored following an advisory which stopped physical meetings, and they had not developed adequate mechanisms for virtual sittings.
MPs demanded answers on why Health PS Susan Mochache kept communicating to commercial services director Eliud Mureithi.
Kajwang’ said they have information that the commitment letters were solely handled by Manjari, some even after the process was flagged.
On this, the suspended CEO said, “Whoever gave the information was misleading. I signed them, but the drafting was done by the procurement director.”
“A few letters were done in my office since the procurement director was not in office but I signed all commitment letters.”
When PS Mochache appeared before the committee last week, she said Kemsa chiefs spent Sh5.1 billion without her approval.
She said a meeting of March 18 resolved that the ministry buys 25,000 PPEs, 10,000 KN95 face masks and 6,000 Covid-19 testing kits.
Instead, Kemsa procured 1.6 million KN95 face masks, 9,900 N95 face masks, 5,000 N95 (1860) face masks and 21,646 infrared thermometers.
They also sourced 126,000 PPEs instead of the approved 25,000, 32,190 face shields, 26,000 pairs of goggles, 126,700 50-pack surgical gloves, 2,190 50-pack nitrile gloves, 330,000 500-ml hand sanitisers, 75 ventilators, and 21 million 3-ply disposable masks.
The PS said she was shocked to learn that Kemsa bosses had bypassed the ministry and overshot the budget.