A secretary at the scandal-ridden drugs agency has told lawmakers that suspended Chief Executive Officer Jonah Manjari made her to backdate a commitment letter for a three-month-old firm awarded a Sh900 million tender.
Ms Pamela Kaburu also said she found Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja in the office of the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (Kemsa) CEO when Mr Manjari instructed her to backdate the letter for the supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
“He ordered me to backdate the letter for Shop N Buy from May 8 to April 30 and deliver it to his office,” Ms Kaburu told the National Assembly Public Investments Committee (PIC) yesterday.
Ms Kaburu is the secretary of suspended procurement manager Charles Juma, who last week told the committee about the “deep state” that threatened to make him disappear if specific companies were not awarded the lucrative tenders.
Ms Kaburu said Mr Manjari did not give reasons for backdating the letter.
“I could not question him since he is my boss,” Ms Kaburu told the committee that is chaired by Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir.
Ms Kaburu added that she asked Mr Juma if what the chief executive had ordered her to do was right.
Mr Juma reportedly told her to do as instructed.
Ms Kaburu told the committee that when she took the backdated letter to Mr Manjari’s office, she found Mr Sakaja seated.
Mr Juma could also not explain the relationship between Mr Sakaja and Shop N Buy when he faced the committee last week.
Asked if there were other backdated letters, Ms Kaburu said she only worked on one.
“It is possible others were backdated at the CEO’s office,” the secretary said.
Ms Kaburu added that many commitment letters to Kemsa suppliers were issued at Manjari’s office without the knowledge or approval of the procurement manager as required by the law.
She said Mr Juma and Mr Manjari’s working relation was not good “to a point that he (Juma) once broke down in his office”.
“I came to the office as usual one day and found a message from Mr Juma. It read: ‘Pamela, I think I need to quit’,” Ms Kaburu told the lawmakers.
Ms Kaburu said she went to Mr Juma’s office to ask what the problem was.
“He began crying. I advised him not to resign because he has children and needed to be there for them. We prayed together and I went back to my office,” Ms Kaburu said.
She told the committee that Mr Juma would always be summoned by the CEO even during weekends or when he was on leave to issue commitment letters.
This, she said, was despite Mr Juma’s earlier advisory that the drugs agency should stop procuring more PPE since whatever had been bought was enough.
“Even after my boss wrote the advisory, the chief executive instructed us to continue writing the commitment letters,” Ms Kaburu said.
“One would tell, even by just passing outside, that something was wrong at Kemsa. There were many people and a lot of activities going on.”
During his appearance at the National Assembly committee last week, Mr Juma said Mr Manjari ordered him to sign commitment letters to companies that were not among those pre-qualified to supply goods to Kemsa, warning that “I do not know the people we are dealing with”.
In instances he would refuse or question the issuing of the commitment letters, Mr Juma said the chief executive officer would direct the procurement managers’ secretary to do so.
According to Mr Juma, commitment letters to eight companies that won cumulative tenders valued at Sh2.1 billion were issued by Mr Manjari.
He added that the Kemsa chief executive did not consult the procurement department.
The companies are Regal Freighters Ltd, Northlink GSC Ltd, Meraky Healthcare, Everywhere Distributors, LA Miguela Holdings Ltd, Shop and Buy Ltd, Midlife Biological Ltd and Komtel Kenya Ltd.
There's no story that cannot be told. We cover the stories that others don't want to be told, we bring you all the news you need. If you have tips, exposes or any story you need to be told bluntly and all queries write to us [email protected] also find us on Telegram
