Editor's Review

The fraudulent dealings which relate to the purchase and supply of COVID-19 emergency commodities by KEMSA led to the irregular expenditure of public funds of approximately Ksh7.8 Billion. 

Members of Parliament have revived the push to hold accountable individuals who pocketed billions of shillings at the height of the pandemic.

In a fresh move, the Committee on Implementation has directed the Principal Secretary (PS) of Medical Services Harry Kimutai to constitute a multi-agency team to investigate the irregular procurement and fraudulent payments at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The fraudulent dealings which relate to the purchase and supply of COVID-19 emergency commodities by KEMSA led to the irregular expenditure of public funds of approximately Ksh7.8 Billion. 

The directive followed the PS’s admission that before the Committee wrote to him asking him to update them on what the Ministry had done towards the implementation of House Resolutions on this matter, he was not seized of this matter.

File image of KEMSA offices. PHOTO | COURTESY

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“The Ministry prior to receipt of this letter had no record of a letter requesting for the formation of the multiagency team to look into the Covid-19 procurement processes at KEMSA”, he admitted.

However, the committee was dissatisfied with the response and compelled him to explain why four years down the line, the ministry had not acted on the recommendations.

“The government works in perpetuity. The fact that you were not serving in your current position of PS is not an excuse enough as to why the House recommendation has not been implemented. Once you assumed your position, you should have acquainted yourself with all the matters relating to your State Department”, Budalangi MP Raphael Wanjala told him.

“Last week, the Members castigated this Committee on the floor of the House for slow implementation of House resolutions. We cannot continue taking the blame because of the efficiencies of public officers. We’re giving you two weeks to constitute the team, and to avail the report of that team before this Committee”, Wanjala directed.

The MPs also blamed the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for going back and forth hence dragging the case.