'Passerby' James Njuguna Reveals How He Effortlessly Won Sh180 Million Kemsa Tender

MPs were on Thursday left in shock after a man narrated how he easily won a Sh180 million tender for the supply of Covid-19 protective equipment to Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa).

James Njuguna, a director of La Miguela Holdings Limited, appeared before the Public Investment Committee (PIC) that is investigating the alleged irregular procurement at Kemsa.

He told members of the committee that he was passing by Kemsa offices in Embakasi, Nairobi when he saw a crowd and decided to find out what was happening.

“I went straight to the receptionist who advised me not to waste time and apply for the tenders which were being flaunted,” Nguguna is quoted by People Daily.

“I quickly penned off a two-sentence letter and after two hours I was told I had succeeded and asked to collect the commitment letter from the chief executive officer’s office,” he added.

Njuguna said he previously supplied fire equipment worth Sh400,000 to Kemsa but MPs could not fathom how he bypassed all the procurement processes to land the lucrative tender.

He said he was not interrogated by any Kemsa official before being awarded the contract since many people applied for the tenders hence pressuring the people in charge of the process.

He explained: “Things happened very first, I was acting as directed. There were many people seeking the tenders and therefore one could not question the process at the time.”

“The tenders were being issued to address an emergency and hence no need to go through the tedious process as time was running out, the country had been hit by a pandemic,” Nguguna added.

Also appearing before the committee was 27-year-old Ivy Minyow, a director Kilig who could not explain how the company bagged a Sh4 billion tender at Kemsa despite being registered a few months earlier.

“We were too optimistic after Kemsa honored our request and could not hesitate to provide the samples,” Minyow said.