This archive report was first published on 28 July 2020.
On July 28, 2020, the Senate Health Committee was left frustrated after officials from the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (Kemsa) failed to provide documents on alleged procurement irregularities at the medicine supplier.
The committee, led by stand-in Chairperson Mary Seneta, threatened to invoke Chapter 19 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act, which imposes fines and sanctions on witnesses who fail to appear or provide required documents.
The law states that any witness who fails to appear before a committee or appears but fails to provide required documents shall be fined Sh500,000 and a jail term of three months.
The virtual meeting, which was supposed to discuss the irregularities in the procurement of Covid-19 equipment, ended prematurely after senators argued that it was impossible to tell if the evidence presented by Kemsa CEO Jonah Manjari was legitimate or forged.
The committee had requested Kemsa to submit certified copies of all procurement records in respect of financial years 2017/2018 to 2019/2020, but the agency provided only details on Covid-19 procurement, which the committee described as 'a big joke'.
During the chaotic online meeting, it also emerged that Kemsa CEO had reached out privately to the chairman of the Senate Health Committee investigating the scam, Mr Michael Mbito, and cut a deal on when to present the documents to the chagrin of the rest of the members.
However, members could hear none of it, arguing that such a private meeting 'over a cup of tea' should not be dragged in front of the sitting.
Dr Manjari tried explaining to the members that some of the documents requested were too bulky and would require more time to present, and that is why he reached out to the chairman privately to buy more time.
The meeting had to be ended prematurely as the senators retreated to consider the sanctions to impose on Kemsa officials for not submitting all the relevant tender documents as requested.
It is required that witnesses present documents and written statements in advance before appearing for a parliamentary probe.
This comes at a time when top executives at Kemsa are recording statements with the anti-corruption watchdog, which is conducting a separate investigation into a drugs scandal that is unfolding at the agency.
