The registrar of companies has declined to provide details of a firm linked to Jubilee Vice-chair David Murathe which was adversely mentioned in the Kemsa Sh7.8 billion PPE scandal
The Public Investments Committee of the National Assembly has thus summoned the registrar to explain why they are yet to reveal faces behind Kilig Ltd.
PIC chairman Abdulswamad Nassir (Mvita MP) said Parliament wrote to the registrar for details of all the companies mentioned in the probe.
The committee sought the details, specifically their ownership as of April when most of the firms were given a commitment letter to supply PPEs to Kemsa.
“The registrar of companies did not provide CR12 for Kilig Ltd. It is serious. We don’t know why they are skipping some names. There shouldn’t be a reason why they are failing to,” Nassir said.
“The registrar will be called to say who is exactly behind this ‘master scheme’,” he added, a situation that lifts the lid on the task ahead for entities seeking to unravel the faces behind the Kemsa scandal.
In a stormy session on Thursday, a director of Kilig on Wednesday took the lawmakers in circles in a fiery session in an attempt to shield the identity of the entity's founders.
Ivy Minyow, 27, went to the extent of calling the supposed directors to get their approval for the mention.
This was even as details emerged of how the company changed hands from original directors in four months.
On compulsion by the committee, Ivy said Wilbrod Gatei and Zhu Jinping – a Chinese national, owned the company at that time.
Murathe has maintained he was not in any way involved in the multi-billion shilling tender awarded to Kilig Ltd.
He said his connection with Gatei is that of a colleague in the consultancy field, with whom they executed various tenders for international companies.
Murathe was among bigwigs who faced the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission for grilling over the PPEs case.
Kilig, records show, was incorporated on January 22 but now has Ivy as its sole director.
Ivy told MPs that she took over the company in May from Collins Bush Wanjala - a lawyer.
It is unclear how Wanjala acquired the company from a second layer of directors, whose identities MPs want the registrar to reveal.
Ivy said the company has not had any changes of directorship since May 12, 2020 when she took over.
The director said she was a counsel for the company at the time on incorporation in January and hence any information regarding activities at that time may be considered privileged.
But Nassir asked: “Why would you want to hide the history of the company? Could it be why the registrar failed to provide to us the CR12?”
“I don’t know the information of transfers that happened in between but I know the transfers from Bush Wanjala to myself,” she said.
She said her initial hesitation arose from her fears of breaching lawyer-client confidentiality.
Kaloleni MP Paul Katana said: “I don’t see the reason why you cannot disclose the names of the directors before you took over.”
Ruaraka MP Tom Kajwang’ said: “You (Ivy) cannot be on one hand a witness and on the other a counsel; you must choose one.”
“You can’t enjoy the privilege of advocate-client confidentiality. You are too conflicted to make us believe you are obstructing justice, which is an illegality.”
The concern by lawmakers is that the company was issued a commitment letter in three days of its application for intent to supply on April 6.
Within the said period, the company had been given the go-ahead to supply goods worth 4.2 million US Dollars.
Kemsa issued a letter April 9 assigning Kilig to supply 450,000 PPE kits, the very day it confirmed receipt of the company’s letter.
However, the order was cancelled after which Kilig sought an extension.
Kemsa wrote a second commitment letter on April 30 but cancelled the same on June 30 citing no budgetary provisions.
More suppliers are lined up to face the committee today.
La Miguela Holdings director James Njuguna also appeared before the committee and denied any wrongdoing.