The new chief executive officer at the troubled Kenya Medical Supplies Authority Terry Ramadhani is a marked person.
Weekly Citizen has information, Ramadhani was pushed to the position by Uhuru Kenyatta family members led by cousin Kathreen Kihanya and sister Nyokabi Kenyatta.
The two are directors of companies that were involved in doing lucrative tenders with Health ministry linked parastatals including Kemsa
Assets Recocery Agency on May 25 2022 wrote to the CEO inquiring into suspected money laundering leading to proceeds of crime at Kemsa.
The firms involved are Ultra Lab East Africa Ltd and Plasma Health and Training College. The CEO during Uhuru twilight months in power was in a deal to fleece Kemsa Sh 200milion scandal involving questionable recruitment of 377 new staff members.
Weekly Citizen has information that Ramadhani was the brains behind recruitment of officers to fill various technical and professional positions at the agency.
Inside sources indicate that the board had budgeted for Sh70 million to be used in seeking consultancy services for the recruitment of the said officers to support in the transformation agenda of the authority.
With the naming of Susan Wafula Nakhumicha, an ally of Ford Kenya leader and national assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula as Health CS nominee, Ramadhani whose future was guarantered had Raila Odinga won presidency courtesy of the Kenyattas now hangs in balance.
At one time, Ramadhani had accused an ally of Wetangula for causing discomfort at Kemsa. The group is eager to embrace the change and the neutral group has supported the recently appointed nononsense CEO, Ramadhani.
The second group has joined forces with external stakeholders to frustrate the reforms at Kemsa. Ramadhani in her recruitment scandal targeted Samuel Okanda[1]warehouse manager.
Maureen Nyakako, Victor Nyakako, Emily Odera (distribution), Lilian Adhiambo, Collins Orido (admin), Marjorie Atieno (Mombasa), Veronica Adhiambo (warehouse), Christopher Okoth (QA), Fred Okoko(warehouse), Dennis Otieno (Kisumu) and Wilfred Ahayo (warehouse).
Others were John Kabuchi- director, Alex Mwangi (warehouse). Mwangi to the CEO was married to Christine Mwangi (finance).
Not spared was Enos Namasaka- HR manager, David Laisa, Emmanuel Laisa and Kevin Laisa. Also on the hit list was Priscilla Njeri- HR, Virginia Wangari, Mary Wambui (procurement) and Priscilla Njeri.
Others were Eric Muneria, Ednah Kakenya (warehouse), Elizabeth Sintoyia (warehouse) Catherine Muneria), James Kilonzo – chief security officer, Melody Bisieri andIrene Wambui (admin manager).
The list had also Eunice Gathigia (warehouse) and Julius Mureithi (finance). Julius Mureithi and Veronica Sandé (customer service). Agnetta Muffutu- former admin manager was fired on on issues relating to fake papers and obtaining money to hire. The same was with Leonard Amimo, Marine Opala (admin niece), Cyrilla Khakasa (warehouse) and Antony Muffutu.
The man the CEO earmarked most was Ferdinand Wanyonyi –legal having acted as CEO at one give time. Wanyonyi was in the same group with Phillip Murunga (customer service), Kelvin Muhatia (HR), Diana (admin), Steve Murimi (ICT), Mercy Gichari (CEO’s office), Collins Kamau (finance) and Vellah Tuikong’ (HR) Ericriss Maina (warehouse) , Anne Mwendwa (warehouse), Jerusa Ochoi (admin) ando Evans Nyaramba (warehouse) were targeted just like Elizabeth Mwai.
The idea of reapplying for their jobs was thus perfected to get rid of them. Catherine Maingi, Samuel Okanda, Mary Kitaka, Elizabeth Mwai, Elizabeth Muli, James Kilonzo, Abdi Hadun, Christine Mwangi were to fall as per the CEO plans.
According to highly placed sources, also at the staff recruitment was a top KRA official Patience Nduta, a liaison officer at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and one Antony Chege who is a procurement assistant and Kemsa.
Nduta is the deputy commissioner at KRA and regional coordinator, South Rift and in this scandal her company, Nuven Consulting, is poised to be used in channeling the dirty money.
A source told Weekly Citizen that the situation has forced procurement director Silas Njeru to grudgingly opt for a leave to avoid being tainted.
The CEO instead charged Chege with an assignment to handle the dubious transaction. After a stint of two acting CEOs in a span of less than two years, Kemsa finally appointed Ramadhani as the new CEO to spearhead restructuring plan at the scandal-laden agency.
She took over from John Kabuchi who was appointed in an acting capacity of December 28 2021, following the exit of Edward Njoroge.
Njoroge had also assumed the position in an acting capacity after the suspension of Jonah Manjari alongside other senior directors at the drugs agency to allow for the investigations into claims of corruption in Covid-19 procurements.
The authority has been undergoing a series of radical changes after being marred by procurement scandals that saw the entire staff sent home and their positions declared redundant.
In this particular saga, a red flag was raised when the controversial CEO pushed for a direct procurement method in favour of Jkuat, through Kaburiah, said to be the cartel’s link person at the institution.
Jkuat Enterprises Limited was therefore to offer consultancy services regarding the pending recruitment of new staff to fill various technical and professional positions.
According to documents in our possession, the 377 officers are to be distributed in the office of the CEO (5), corporation secretary and legal services directorate (5), health products and technologies directorate (206) and supply chain management directorate (32).
Other directorates are customer service (31), partnership and resource mobilization (8), strategy and planning (14), corporate services (65) and internal audit and risk assurance (11).
The Jkuat Enterprises Limited had earlier quoted Sh70 million but in what proves to be a complex web, the tender was subcontracted to Nuven Consulting at an exaggerated cost of Sh129 million, paving the way for a mouthwatering kickback of Sh 50 million.
Understandably, this is the kickback that is likely to be shared among the cartels led by Ramadhani, KRA officer Nduta, Kemsa assistant procurement officer Chege and Kaburiah who is the liaison officer at Jkuat.
Records obtained by our investigative team from the registrar of companies reveals that Nuven Consulting is based in Westlands and was registered in 2020.
The directors of the company (registration number BN-KYCZYBJ2) are listed as Adam Angelo Mureithi Nyaga and Patience Nduta Njau.
Apparently, Jkuat was preferred in direct procurement with the sole intention of avoiding competition. This is against the public procurement act revised edition 2016 which dictates that a procuring entity may use direct procurement as long as the purpose is not to avoid competition.
It is also emerging that the whole process is dominated by pure conflict of interest since Ramadhani and Nduta are friends who have ostensibly teamed up to execute a heist at the healing agency.
Weekly Citizen investigative team trailed the duo to the social media platform and as a proof that they are good friends, Nduta went on her Twitter account to congratulate Ramadhani when she was named the new Kemsa CEO. “Congratulations, well deserved lady!! You go get ‘em’’, she showered Ramadhani with praise.
The deep rooted friendship between Ramadhani and Nduta is said to be dating back to their days at the Kenyatta University.
As for Chege, inside sources told Weekly Citizen that he has emerged to be the one misadvising the CEO when it comes to the dirty work at the procurement department.
When the procurement director Njeru attempted to advise the CEO on the potential dangers involved in twisting the recruitment tender, a furious Chege reportedly intervened and downplayed the matter.
Due to his closeness with the CEO, Chege is said to have turned into a bully who is constantly looking for trouble from his fellow colleagues.
However, Weekly Citizen has established that what humbled Chege is a shocking letter from the ARA which is investigating his links with two companies involved in tender fraud with Kemsa.
The letter from ARA which is in our possession states that the two companies, Ultra Lab East Africa Limited and Plasma Health and Training College were used to commit tender fraud at Kemsa between 2019 and 2021. “The agency is currently conducting investigations into suspected money laundering activity in which one of the employees at the Kemsa is allegedly involved’’.
To this effect, ARA has demanded from Kemsa, procurement and tendering documents including contracts, letters of awards and completion certificates.
ARA further demands to be furnished with a list of bidders in each contract awarded certificated copies of payment vouchers for each contract and its attachment.
The letter signed by director ARA Alice Mate has also compelled Kemsa to avail bank details for each company paid stating the branch and amount, details of Kemsa bank account making payment, budget and procurement plans of the county government for the period between 2019 and 2021 among other document which may assist in their investigation.
Chege acknowledged that he was aware of the letter from the ARA and also admitted that he had knowledge of the two companies suspected of fraud.
He however absolved himself and the CEO from any wrongdoing citing that the staff members at Kemsa resisting the ongoing transformation at the agency were behind what he described as propaganda to bring them down.
A source close to him told Weekly Citizen that a shaken Chege now believes that the ARA would for his multimillion shillings dairy farm project in Subukia, Nakuru County.
It’s believed that the unfinished dairy farm project owned by Chege is one of the many investment avenues initiated by proceeds from dirty money.
Many insiders were shocked to learn that Ramadhani had teamed up with Chege to loot the agency despite the fact that it was still under the government radar following the previous scandals.
To many, the new CEO could have camouflaged for a period of time before showing her true colours.
A top operative who requested anonymity revealed that Ramadhani’s promotion was pushed by then health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe.
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