This archive report was first published on 3 August 2020.
As the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the world in March 2020, a group of Kenyan tenderpreneurs saw an opportunity to profit from the government's efforts to combat the virus.
The government had received Ksh 223 billion from international donors, which was wired to the Central Bank within 60 days. The Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) was the primary recipient of these funds, tasked with procuring medical equipment.
Among the firms awarded tenders was Ziwala Limited, owned by Samantha Ngina Muthama and June Nduta Kinyua. Samantha is the daughter of President Uhuru Kenyatta's younger sister, Nyokabi Muthama. The company was awarded a Ksh 84 million tender to supply 120,000 KN95 masks, but Kemsa procured the masks at an inflated price of Ksh 700 per piece, when the retail price was Ksh 500.
This is not the first time that President Kenyatta's family has been linked to a controversial tender in the Health Ministry. In 2016, ODM leader Raila Odinga implicated a company associated with Uhuru's sister, Nyokabi, in the Ksh 5.2 billion Afya House Scandal.
