This archive report was first published on 10 October 2019.
Published on October 10, 2019, Parliament has opened an investigation into the Sh12.6 billion police vehicles leasing tender.
According to sources, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi directed a departmental committee to probe possible interference in the procurement process of the contract that has placed the Interior department on the spot.
The directive followed a request for a statement from Endebess MP Robert Pukose, who said the tender was shrouded in controversy, especially given the haste with which it was awarded.
Mr. Pukose stated that decisions of the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board and the High Court ruling that had halted the process were disregarded.
He further alleged that the process of picking the tender for the leasing of 1,290 police vehicles was characterised by 'blatant' disregard of procurement procedures, indicating the possibility of some senior public officers pushing their personal interests.
Mr. Pukose also pointed out that the manner in which the tender was hastily pushed, with Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho re-advertising it through a restricted process after High Court Judge John Mativo had stopped the ministry from concluding the process for leasing, indicated possibility of manipulation by State or public officers.
He stated, 'The unwarranted haste seems to favour a specific bid which may have been pre-identified by the users in the view of the fact that new bidders were called by phones to submit bids, leading to irregular award that took place on October 2. This award is shrouded in secrecy and possible irregularities.'
Mr. Pukose also questioned the suspiciously short timeframe of the new tender process, which took only ten days to finalise, compared to the three weeks taken by the first tendering process.
