The ghost of the multi-million-shilling tender fiasco that characterised the World Trade Organisation meeting two years ago continues to haunt the Kenyatta International Convention Centre.
The Commission on Administrative Justice, also known as the Ombudsman, is the latest state agency to jump into the controversial tendering process.
In a letter to Tourism PS Fatuma Hirsi, CAJ acting chairperson Regina Mwatha has asked her to institute a fresh probe into the matter and revert to her office.
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s niece Nana Gecaga is the new KICC managing director.
Not paid for work done
Some contractors had written to the Ombudsman protesting that the KICC nullified their tenders and declined to pay them long after their renovation and refurbishment works.
“The Commission is in receipt of a complaint from KICC contractors — that they were contracted to carry out some renovations at the KICC building during the Ministerial Trade Organisation Conference held in 2015. That since then, they have not been paid,” the letter states.
The KICC management nullified tens of contracts, claiming that the tendering process was fraudulent.
But even before the historic meeting, the first in Africa, the KICC board headed by former South Mugirango MP Omingo Magara fired the facility’s managing director, Fred Simiyu.
EACC probes kicc board
Ironically, soon after the WTO meting, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission began investigating the entire KICC board over procurement irregularities.
The board is under investigation for alleged irregular procurement and award of a contract for the design, supply and installation of a Computerised Conference Management system.
In November last year, MPs unsuccessfully summoned Gecaga and the KICC board to get to resolve the dispute.
This was after the suppliers wrote a teary letter to Uhuru, seeking his intervention.
They said they are in financial ruin, as banks are going after their property.
It is understood that the Parliamentary Joint Committee on National Cohesion and Equal Opportunity led by Johnson Sakaja is finalising its report without the input of the KICC management.