Fresh Procurement Queries Deepen Crisis at Jomo Kenyatta Foundation as Irregularities Emerge in Elimu Scholarship Supplies

Fresh grievances have once again cast the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation (JKF) into controversy, placing renewed focus on a state corporation established in 1966 to publish educational materials and administer scholarships, but which in recent years has undergone a mandate transition that expanded its role into managing the World Bank–supported Elimu Scholarship Programme for vulnerable learners across Kenya. Fresh procurement queries at Jomo Kenyatta Foundation raise questions over irregularities in Elimu Scholarship Supplies for vulnerable students.

The latest information received points to disputed procurement procedures surrounding the sourcing and distribution of shopping kits and essential supplies for thousands of Form One and Form Two beneficiaries, with sources describing irregular alterations to tender evaluation outcomes, concentration of supply contracts among select vendors, and internal dissatisfaction over what is portrayed as interference with established procurement frameworks.

These developments do not arise in isolation but rather echo earlier public claims that depicted the Foundation as grappling with leadership instability, costly policy shifts, and mounting operational strain during its transition from a publishing-focused entity to a central administrator of government-backed scholarship funds.

At the centre of the current complaints are reports that centralized procurement decisions may have overridden committee recommendations, thereby raising questions about adherence to competitive bidding principles and internal checks designed to safeguard public and donor-funded resources.

Beyond procurement, staff narratives describe prolonged salary delays extending over several months, staggered or partial disbursements of net pay, and uncertainty over the remittance of statutory deductions, circumstances said to have imposed acute financial hardship on employees tasked with implementing scholarship programmes on behalf of disadvantaged learners.

Employees further describe stagnation in career progression, absence of a comprehensive scheme of service, and limited morale-support structures within the institution, conditions that they argue weaken organisational cohesion at a time when JKF is entrusted with managing high-stakes national education interventions.

Compounding these grievances are longstanding allegations, previously aired in public commentary, that internal management dynamics have fostered divisions within the workforce and strained relationships between senior leadership and departmental heads, thereby affecting decision-making efficiency and institutional credibility.

Taken cumulatively, the renewed complaints and historical accusations sketch a portrait of a parastatal navigating reputational and operational turbulence at a critical juncture in its strategic plan, with observers now calling for rigorous, independent examination of procurement integrity, financial stewardship, and governance architecture to determine whether corrective action is required to restore confidence in the Foundation’s stewardship of scholarship resources.

Below is a detailed outline of the latest claims submitted to this publication, in which a source calls for the intervention of the Cabinet Secretary (CS) and Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Education, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), and the World Bank over what is described as procurement malpractice, abuse of office, and conflict of interest linked to the management of the Elimu Scholarship Programme at JKF. "Dear Nyakundi, There have been serious exposes you have done concerning the management of this organisation, but no action has ever been taken against them. It is high time this one reaches the desk of the CS and PS, Ministry of Education, the anti-corruption body EACC, the World Bank, and the DCI. This expose seeks to bring to the attention of relevant oversight and investig…