Police Open Probe as Sh160 Million Medical Supplies Donated to Kenya are 'Stolen' at JKIA

Police in Nairobi have opened investigations into the disappearance of medical equipment donated to Kenya by China to help in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The equipment included surgical masks, protective suits, isolation gowns, and thermometers worth £1.6 million (Sh160 million).

A private company working with government officials and Chinese businessmen in Kenya is said to have laid claim to the consignment when it arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) from China, according to an investigation by KTN News.

The company went ahead to ‘donate’ part of the stolen equipment to Kenyan government ministries.

The government has faced serious questions from Kenyans over how medical supplies donated to Kenya by various international donors have been utilized.

Despite Kenya receiving equipment worth millions of shillings from donors such as Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the US and various European nations, Kenyan health workers still complain of insufficient protective gear, testing kits and reagents.

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe recently admitted there are cartels at the ministry’s headquarters and vowed to dismantle them.