Traders operating at the Port of Mombasa are calling for immediate investigations into corruption allegations against a senior Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) official who they accuse of demanding millions in bribes to facilitate clearance of containerized goods.
The traders have specifically named Zipporah ‘Zippy’ Njoki Kangara, a Quality Analyst with KEBS Mombasa office, alleging she demands between Sh150,000 and Sh2 million from importers before their containers can be cleared from the port.
“This woman has turned our business into a nightmare. She openly tells us that part of what we pay goes to the head office in Nairobi, and she acts with impunity knowing she’s protected,” said one trader who requested anonymity for fear of victimization.
The allegations come at a time when KEBS has been grappling with corruption scandals, with senior officials from both KRA and KEBS having been arrested in recent years for soliciting bribes at Mombasa Port.
According to the complainants, Kangara has been stationed at the Mombasa office since her employment in 2009 and has never been transferred despite numerous complaints against her conduct. The traders question how a junior officer can afford luxury vehicles and property from her official salary.
“She owns multiple high-end vehicles including a Land Cruiser registration number KCJ 007P and a V8 KBX 110W Land Cruiser, though the latter is registered under her sister Norah Nyambura Kangara,” alleged one of the complainants.
The traders claim Kangara lives in an upmarket residential area in Utange, Bamburi, and leads a lavish lifestyle that appears inconsistent with her official remuneration.
When confronted about potential transfer from Mombasa, Kangara allegedly told traders: “I will never be moved from Mombasa, you will go and find me here. The MD will never listen to you to transfer me, the money you give she gets a share.”
The allegations suggest a wider network of corruption involving collaboration with Kenya Revenue Authority officials, raising questions about systemic graft at the port.
KEBS has previously faced scrutiny over corruption allegations. Recent parliamentary investigations into the agency were suspended after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations cleared KEBS of allegations related to Sh420 million in revenue loss.
However, the agency has also had to deal with fraudsters posing as KEBS officials to extort money from businesses, with recent cases involving imposters demanding bribes of up to Sh20,000 per shop.
The traders are now calling on the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and other relevant authorities to investigate the source of Kangara’s wealth and take appropriate action.
“We want a thorough investigation into how she acquired her wealth and why she has remained in one station for over 15 years without transfer. This cannot be business as usual,” said another trader.
Efforts to reach Kangara for comment were unsuccessful, and KEBS management had not responded to queries sent by the time of going to press.
The Port of Mombasa serves as East Africa’s main gateway for international trade, handling goods worth billions of shillings annually. Any corruption at the facility significantly impacts the cost of doing business and ultimately affects consumers across the region.
The National Assembly’s Trade Committee has issued a formal summons to Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) Managing Director Esther Ngari after she snubbed a second parliamentary hearing into allegations of a Sh420 million fraud scheme, document forgery, and the approval of contaminated food imports.
The committee’s resolution on Monday followed Ngari’s unexplained no-show, despite her written commitment to appear on April 7 after skipping an earlier March 27 session. Lawmakers decried her absence as “contempt of Parliament” and hinted at political protection for senior KEBS officials implicated in the widening scandal.
“Her failure to appear—without even a courtesy communication—speaks volumes. Kenyans deserve answers on whether their food is safe and how public funds vanished,” said committee chair Bernard Shinali (Ikolomani). Vice Chair Marianne Kitany added: “KEBS’s mandate is sacred. If the MD won’t account, who will?”
The Whistleblower Bombshell
The summon by MPs comes amid a damning open letter seen by Kenya Insights from KEBS finance staff to President William Ruto, titled “Mega Corruption at KEBS,” which alleges systemic embezzlement, forged documents, and regulatory negligence under Ngari’s leadership.
The letter, copied to the EACC, DCI, and NIS, details 11 explosive claims:
1. Sh20.8M Travel Impost Fraud: Senior officials, including Ngari, allegedly falsified a July 2024 memo to inflate an imprest from Sh626,800 to Sh1.9 million for a phantom “insurance risk assessment” trip.
2. Sh57M ‘Ghost’ Security Contract: Payments to BSK Global Technologies for a non-functional security system, plus Sh8.6 million annual maintenance fees.
3. Contaminated Rice Imports: KEBS issued its Diamond Mark of Quality to Gama Foods Traders for Pakistani rice lacking conformity certificates or lab tests—mirroring a 2022 scandal where Sh200 million worth of unsafe rice entered Kenya.
4. Fertilizer Scandal: KEBS allegedly permitted Maisha Minerals to sell substandard fertilizer using expired permits, shielded by “powerful political figures.”
5. Sh30M Law Firm Payouts: Nyaanga & Mugisha Advocates received millions without evidence of services rendered.
National Security at Risk
The whistleblowers also revealed a June 2023 malware attack by an ICT staffer that crippled KEBS systems, including payroll and email, costing Sh10 million to restore. Despite the breach, the employee was transferred—not fired.
The committee has expanded its summons to include Trade CS Lee Kinyanjui and PS Juma Mukhwana, vowing to “unmask all conspirators.”
“Kenya won’t be a dumping ground for unsafe goods,” Shinali declared. “No political ties will stop this probe.”
Former LSK President Alleges Widespread Corruption in Kenya’s Supreme Court
Former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi has intensified his campaign against the Supreme Court of Kenya, alleging that judges were bribed with over Sh4 billion by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
In a bold statement on Sunday, Havi claimed that Chief Justice Martha Koome and three other Supreme Court judges received Sh4 billion in bribes.
“We need to go live on X to expose how the bribe was given to Koome and Njoki by a Jubilee operative, to Wanjala by a Nyanza MP, and to another judge by a governor. Let the four disgraced judges return the Sh4 billion they took from Uhuru Kenyatta. That was unjust enrichment,” Havi posted, tagging fellow lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi. Both lawyers have been vocal critics of the country’s top court.
Havi’s allegations of judicial corruption did not stop there. He further claimed that Sh300 million was “disbursed” as a bribe in a case where Geo Chem Middle East Limited was awarded Sh2.3 billion on December 18, 2020, against the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) for breach of contract.
According to Havi, the bribery tip came from a judge who was not part of the bench hearing the case.
“A Supreme Court judge who did not sit on this bench has confirmed to us that Sh300 million was disbursed for the assignment on Kenya Bureau of Standards. That is why the judges who went to court do not want the other judge to spill the beans on them,” he posted.
The award was reinstated by Justices Philomena Mwilu, Mohamed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, Njoki Ndung’u, and Isaac Lenaola on December 18, 2020.
Ahmednasir’s Claims of Bribery in the Supreme Court
Ahmednasir Abdullahi has also made explosive claims of corruption in the Supreme Court. In a suit filed before the East African Court of Justice, where he is challenging a ban imposed on him by the Kenyan Supreme Court, Abdullahi has lifted the lid on alleged widespread corruption in the apex court.
In his suit, Abdullahi argues that the Supreme Court unlawfully denied him an audience based on a “judge-made offense” intended to silence his public criticism of corruption in the judiciary. He also claims that the ban was imposed following an exchange of WhatsApp messages among members of the Supreme Court bench.
Abdullahi is seeking Sh200 million in legal fees from taxpayers, which he claims he would have earned from cases he was hired to handle but were stalled due to the ban.
How Supreme Court Judges Were Allegedly Bribed
Supreme Court judges (from left) Isaac Lenaola, Dr Smokin Wanjala, Philomena Mwilu, Chief Justice Martha Koome, Mohamed Ibrahim, Njoki Ndung’u and William Ouko.
The most striking part of Abdullahi’s petition is his detailed account of how judges were allegedly bribed to influence the outcome of the 2022 presidential petition.
In the court documents seen by Kenya Insights, Abdullahi claims that four out of the seven Supreme Court judges were paid between $1.5 million and $2 million (Sh200 million to Sh266 million) each to overturn William Ruto’s election victory, which had been challenged by Raila Odinga. However, the judges were unable to influence the verdict, which upheld Ruto’s win on September 5, 2022.
Abdullahi provides a blow-by-blow account of how the bribes were allegedly delivered:
– Judge A accepted a bribe delivered at their Nairobi home by a powerful politician.
– Judge B accepted bribes from three individuals: the son of a deceased leader, a retired governor, and an influential businesswoman.
– Judge C took a bribe from a member of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) who later left the service.
– Judge D accepted a bribe from a member of Parliament. Initially, Judge D wanted the bribe to be given to their wife but later changed their mind.
Historical Corruption Allegations
Lawyer Ahmednasir’s Abdulahi.
Abdullahi also referenced past corruption scandals involving Supreme Court judges as part of his evidence. He cited the case of Justice Phillip Tunoi, who was accused of taking a $2 million bribe to influence an election petition. Tunoi was found guilty and dismissed by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
He also mentioned the Panama Papers, which alleged that Justice Kalpana Rawal, Kenya’s second Deputy Chief Justice, and her husband operated offshore companies in the Caribbean, a notorious tax haven. The offshore companies were reportedly used to sell properties in the UK worth millions of shillings.
Abdullahi further highlighted an incident where the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) recommended an investigation into Justice Jackton Ojwang over allegations that he received favors from then-Migori Governor Okoth Obado in exchange for influencing a case. However, a tribunal led by Justice Visram cleared Ojwang of misconduct.
Additionally, Abdullahi referenced a petition filed at the JSC by Jared Ongeri, seeking the removal of Justices Mohammed Ibrahim, Jackton Ojwang, Smokin Wanjala, and Njoki Ndung’u for allegedly taking bribes to influence the outcome of the Wajir Governor election petition.
He also mentioned the case of Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, who was arrested and charged with corruption and economic crimes, including tax evasion and abuse of office. Although the charges were upheld in a constitutional reference, her prosecution was quashed after a court ruled that her privacy was violated during the evidence-gathering process.
Supreme Court Judges Fight to Keep Their Jobs
Amid the bribery accusations, Supreme Court judges are fighting to retain their positions as the JSC considers petitions for their removal. The JSC is set to reconvene on Tuesday, with the proposed removal of seven Supreme Court judges, including Chief Justice Martha Koome, topping the agenda.
The meeting will be chaired by the Commission’s vice-chairperson, Isaac Rutto, and attended by nine members. However, CJ Koome and Justice Mohammed Ibrahim, who are among the defendants in the ouster petitions, will not attend.
Last Friday, CJ Koome led the judges in suing the JSC, rejecting the disciplinary proceedings and warning of a looming constitutional crisis if the judges are suspended. She argued that only the Supreme Court has the jurisdiction to determine the validity of presidential elections, state emergencies, and the removal of judges.
“No other person or authority is authorized to carry out the constitutional functions specifically designated to the Supreme Court. Suspending the judges would deprive Kenyans of their fundamental rights,” Koome stated in court filings.
The complaints against the judges were filed by former Cabinet Minister Raphael Tuju’s Dari Limited and lawyers Nelson Havi and Christopher Rosana, alleging misconduct, misbehavior, and incompetence.
Lawyer Nelson Havi.
While Tuju’s complaint involves a commercial dispute with the East African Development Bank, Havi and Rosana’s complaints stem from the Supreme Court’s decision to ban lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi over his social media posts criticizing the judiciary.
The judges were expected to respond to the complaints by February 24, 2025, but instead sought conservatory orders to halt the proceedings. Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu also filed a preliminary objection, contesting the JSC’s authority to entertain the petitions.
Interestingly, Havi previously represented Mwilu in a separate case where she faced allegations of misconduct related to dealings with a bank. She was later cleared by the court.
As the battle between the judiciary and its critics intensifies, Kenya faces a potential constitutional crisis, with the integrity of its highest court hanging in the balance.
The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has accused a Kenyan-based regional fertilizer merchant of fraud after it emerged the firm supplied substandard fertilizer to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB).
Documents tabled before the National Assembly Agriculture Committee by KEBS showed how SBL-Innovate Manufacturer Limited supplied substandard fertilizer dubbed ‘BL-GPC’ for over a year undetected.
KEBS said the firm applied for certification on January 13 and secured approval on January 28, 2023.
KEBS Managing Director Esther Ngari told MPs that initially, the company had complied with all requirements which prompted the agency to issue them permits to supply organic fertilizer but later committed fraud by violating the standards.
The standards agency certified SBL-Innovate Manufacturer to supply organic fertilizer but the firm supplied diatomite, which relies on a biologically generated form of Silica to enhance soil conditions, to NCPB stores.
“During our surveillance, we sampled the product that was being sold in agrovets and finally got intelligence that the product was being supplied through NCPB stores. Test reports showed the product failed on organic matter,” Ngari said.
For months, farmers unknowingly purchased the product bearing KEBS certification.
KEBS said it launched a probe following a tip-off from the public, seizing 5,840 bags in a surveillance raid.
Following the intelligence, NCPB sampled the product in over 59 ware stores across the country which led to the suspension of the product permits amid fears that the product may still be in circulation.
“We haven’t received any communication from NCPB in regards to this particular matter even as they were distributing,” Ngari stated.
Tigania West MP John Mutunga who chairs the committee raised queries on how the fake fertilizer remained on the market for a year questioning the effectiveness of KEBS surveillance.
Ineffective surveillance
“How often do you do your surveillance, what is the effect to the farmers that bought and used this fertilizer, does it have any effect to the crops?” Mutunga posed.
“Your surveillance system, we need to know how long they go out there to survey product on sale and how often they report counterfeit because the product has been in circulation in 2023,” he added.
Soy MP David Kiplagat raised eyebrows on how the NCPB ware stores across the country were distributing fake fertilizers unknowingly
“What’s the relationship between KEBS, NCPB and SBL-Innovate manufacturers? Did NCPB seek assurance from KEBS that the product was certified before distributing? he posed.
KEBS asserted that it had initiated legal proceedings against SBL Innovate Manufacturers Limited even as it remained unclear on the product quantity in the market.
“We have written to the Director of Public Prosecution so that we can be able to prosecute the matter under the standard act,” said Ngari.
The parliamentary probe came hours after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) seized 700 bags of suspected fake fertilizer in Kakamega.
Farmers in the area said the fertilizer sold to them contained stones.
Kenya Insights understands SBL Kenya, under the stewardship of Mr. Joe Kariuki, who is the company CEO, has been making inroads into some of Tanzania’s remotest farming districts, selling affordable fertilizer across towns and divisions, with the help and blessing of Tanzania’s largest fertilizer company, TFC (Tanzania Fertilizer Company).
In what could best be described as one of the instances of state capture, Quality Inspection Services Japan (QISJ) has broke the records by staying on the bag despite its scandalous path and business in Kenya.
Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has contracted a Japanese firm to verify the services for used motor vehicles, spare parts and mobile equipment in Japan, United Kingdom, Thailand, South Africa and United Arab Emirates for three years.
In a statement Tuesday, KEBS announced that it had settled on Japanese firm Quality Inspection Services Inc. to conduct the services from August 19, 2022, and the same extended to Singapore.
Cited and blacklisted for poor inspection of radioactive substances in used vehicles, facing conflict of interest queries and questions about its capacity and professionalism, one would have expected that Japanese used motor vehicle inspection firm, Quality Inspection Services Japan (QISJ), would be long gone from the Kenyan market.
But no. In fact, despite all the accusations against QISJ, including evidence of having sponsored auditors to discredit rivals, QISJ carries on like nothing could be wrong, with vengeance and impunity.
The Japanese used car inspection firm has operated in Kenya for the last decade, contracted by the Kenya Bureau of Statistics (KEBS) to conduct the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVOC) of used motor vehicles and motor vehicle spare parts destined for Kenya.
In that period, many allegations have arisen against the firm. But QISJ’s speed and commitment to ignoring the allegations or blocking investigations have been as good as, perhaps even better, than the pace of the allegations.
In 2015, four years after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011, the threat of nuclear contamination was real and Japanese authorities were not taking matters lightly. Yet for QISJ, the threat posed by radioactive materials on motor vehicles destined for Kenya was not anywhere near their top priorities. They wanted to clear as many vehicles as possible for profit.
But in 2015, the Japan Harbor Transportation Association (JHTA), in a notice dated August 27, 2015, blacklisted QISJ for poor inspection of radioactive substances in used vehicles.
“On May 25 and August 24, 2015, our committee investigated the actual inspected operation for radiation. The result of the investigation of these two foreign-owned companies, Automotive Technologies Ltd and Quality Inspection Services Japan, has received the notice letter (Letter No. 23-123, dated August 26, 2015) from the committee, that they are terminated as radiation surveyors since according to union standards, their actual inspectors are unqualified,” JHTA said in the letter.
The blacklisting, one would expect, would have caused some action from Kenyan authorities but it did not. Instead, QISJ has used its political and financial connections to cement its place as a monopoly for the lucrative three-year, Sh1.5 billion a year tender. In 2020, KEBS broke that monopoly, but only briefly it appears. There are indications that KEBS wants to go back to the regime of a single service provider.
That KEBS was not moved by QISJ’s blacklisting would suggest that the issues around conflict of interest have not bothered them at all. According to KEBS tender conditions for PVOC assignment, bidders are disqualified if they have usually been barred from activities or businesses that could be deemed to be in conflict with inspection services. That includes motor vehicle exportation to Kenya.
From 2011, it became evident that QISJ and Jans Trading Ltd were businesses that shared more than just addresses and phone numbers: Jans Umar and Mr Hatano Kiyoaki were common denominators. They were directors in both QISJ and Jans Trading Ltd.
Jans Trading Ltd is the biggest exporter of used motor vehicles to Kenya. In fact, by 2011, Jans was bringing in 9,000 used motor vehicles annually to Kenya from Japan, accounting for about 25 percent of all motor vehicle exports to the country. The figure may have changed because the country now imports about 7,000 a month with almost a quarter of that still being brought in by Jans.
Issues of conflict of interest were first brought to the fore by the Japan Export Vehicle Inspection Centre (JEVIC), which previously had the KEBS tender before they were unceremoniously kicked out in favour of QISJ.
In March 2011, through letters to then KEBS managing director Joseph Koskey, JEVIC CEO Damon Jackson listed five areas that proved that QISJ and Jans Trading Ltd were basically sister companies that shared not only directors but..
“Additionally JEVIC has documented evidence that the director of QISJ is and continues to work out of Jans Trading office in Yokohama,” the letter stated. Documents seen confirmed that JEVIC was correct and the situation largely remains the same to date in terms of directorship. However, phone numbers and addresses have been changed over the period as the two companies try to conceal their relationship.
Kenyan media reports of November 2011 of the arrest of Umar in Kenya by the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) also confirm that QISJ and Jans Trading are one and the same company. Umar had visited Kenya at the time KEBS was evaluating tenders for the PVOC assignment. However, he was arrested, not for anything to do with QISJ and the ongoing tender at the time, but as a director of Jans, accused of defrauding Kenyan car buyers by not delivering on orders.
Given the relationship that exists between QISJ and Jans, the latter continues to offend the clear terms of KEBS’ tender requirements that there should be no instance of conflict of interest. But the relationship is even more worrying: it raises the possibility that Jans Trading could be getting away with bringing in motor vehicles that do not meet the age and condition requirements for exportation to Kenya.
In this relationship, sustained through impunity, conflict of interest, anti-uncompetitive business behaviours, the other players in the PVOC business continue to bear the brunt of QISJ’s ruthlessness. Sabotage, a questionable special audit by the auditor general and sponsored debarment proceedings, in QISJ’s world, are the name of the game.
East Africa Automobile Services (EAA) and Auto-Terminal Japan (ATJ) have become some of QISJ’s biggest targets. Yet before things changed, and at a time QISJ did not have the capacity to perform the PVOC functions, it was these two companies that it sub-contracted and whose premises it used whenever due diligence teams from Kenya visited Japan. Specifically, QISJ sub-contracted EAA in 2014, and paid the latter a rental fee per motor vehicle inspected in EAA’s premises.
Behind scenes of tender wars
Last year, the tender had been dogged by controversy that has forced the contract to be postponed multiple times last year and left the standard’s agency on the spot.
Kenya Insights established that at least 13 firms have now submitted bids for the multi-billion-shilling motor vehicle inspection contract, including two firms that are fighting from being blacklisted from doing business in Kenya.
The Sh1.5 billion contract was first advertised in January 2021 but was never awarded under unclear circumstances even though contracts for the firms undertaking inspections for Kenya abroad had lapsed.
The agency had announced that documents for the restricted tender were to be published on November 24, 2021. However, this was pushed to November 30 with the tender deadline being set for January 6, 2022. Kebs managing irector Bernard Njiraini pushed the tender deadline to January 27 following a request by one of the bidders.
Among the entities that collected tender documents was Five Blocks Enterprises. Curiously, Five Blocks did not return the documents as a bidder. But, in the tender process, Five Blocks, through its sole director Dr Charles Nzai, an Environmental and Natural Resource Economist at Kenyatta University, would be at the centre of the tendering.
The tender has turned into a classic case of dirty tricks being employed to undercut rival bidders, interests converging and diverging, a Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) speaking from both sides of its mouth, the Auditor General seeking to get involved in procurement matters and clashing multiple investigations reports.
In there are debarment proceedings against two bidders, East Africa Automobile Services (EAA) and Auto-Terminal Japan (ATJ), and the Debarment Committee of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) keen on rushing through the consequential proceedings before KEBS concludes tender evaluation. Meanwhile, KEBS, who just a year ago expanded the pool of PVOC inspectors, now appear to be leaning towards going back to monopoly.
Reports suggest that hundreds of millions was spent by one of the bidders to buy investigators, including members of the Debarment Committee. At least two senior officials at the DCI and KEBS are said to have received bribes to the tune of US$1 million (Sh100 million) each.
After collecting but not returning the tender documents, Five Blocks twice filed reviews with the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB). In the both applications for review, Five Blocks managed to have the tender conditions reviewed and the bidding period extended. A tender that was floated on January 19, 2021 and was originally set to close on February 10 ended up closing on May 5. By the time of closing, only four companies submitted bids for the PVOC for motor vehicles and motor vehicle spare parts: Quality Inspection Services Japan (QISJ), Auto-Terminal Japan (ATJ), East Africa Automobile Services (EAA) and Wilnar International Company.
Five Blocks Director Dr Charles Nzai, a lecturer at Kenyatta University, wrote to PPRA’s Debarment Committee to have ATJ and EAA debarred. Dr Nzai’s firm did not bid.
Before the closing of the tender, and after the two successful applications for reviews, the hitherto dirty tricks shifted into high gear: two of the bidders, ATJ and EAA had to be debarred. Dr Nzai – again – on April 1, 2021, went to the debarment committee seeking to have ATJ and EAA blacklisted and therefore blocked from participating in the PVOC tender.
Looking at the companies who submitted their bids, Dr Nzai’s application would have only meant to benefit one of the remaining bidders if the debarment application was upheld – QISJ because of its experience and financial muscle.
Just to demonstrate how the debarment application was targeted, Dr Nzai wanted his application determined before May 5, the day KEBS had set for the closing of the tender.
The application for debarment was based on allegations stemming from a controversial Special Audit Report by the Auditor General that recommended barring of EAA Company and ATJ, accusing them of forging documents and misrepresenting themselves in the tender that was later awarded to QISJ, allegations the two both companies have vehemently refuted.
Arising from the Special Audit Report, the National Assembly’s Public Investment Committee (PIC) also conducted contentious investigations and also recommended that EAA Company Limited and Auto Terminal Japan (ATJ) be barred from engaging in vehicle inspection tenders.
But in October 2020, High Court Judge Pauline Nyamweya stayed the implementation of parts of the PIC report.
Dr Nzai’s application was based on the Special Audit, which the Parliamentary Investments Committee had submitted to the DCI and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for further investigations. To date, neither of the agencies have produced a report on the investigations.
In fact, when EAA wrote to the DCI on March 25, 2021, inquiring on the status of investigations, John Kariuki responded on May 7, 2021, saying investigations had not concluded, meaning there was no report the Debarment Committee could act upon to convict ATJ and EAA.
“We received information and a host of documents for investigations from the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), the Public Investment Committee (PIC) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). The matter is under active investigation and in the process of seeking Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) to ascertain the authenticity of the documents used to secure tenders at the Kenya Bureau of Statistics. Once the matter is finalised we shall revert,” Mr Kariuki said in the letter.
From here it gets even more interesting.
After Mr Kariuki, who heads investigations at DCI, wrote the letter on May 7, his boss George Kinoti unprecedentedly wrote to KEBS and the PPRA’s Debarment Committee that the evidence against EAA and ATJ was overwhelming. This is despite the fact that the Mutual Legal Assistance the DCI was seeking to send its officers to Japan to verify the documents and physical facilities had not taken place.
Mr Kinoti’s letter was unprecedented because in the ordinary course of events he hardly writes letters concerning investigations. The assignment is often left to the head of investigations, in this case Mr Kariuki. Why was it different this time? We may not know what prompted it.
Fearing that the Debarment Committee, which has not hidden its leanings on the matter, would act on Mr Kinoti’s letter and debar them, EAA moved to court and obtained temporary court orders stopping the committee from proceeding with the hearings.
In the whole confusion surrounding the investigations, there is also the issue of which report(s) to believe. There are at least four different reports: The Special Audit by the Auditor General and the PIC report which was based on the Special Audit. Then there is the 2017 PIC report that was based on actual physical presence of MPs on the ground to verify facilities used by EAA and ATJ and which found that they were compliant. The fourth report is by Interpol, which on several accounts, contradicts the AG’s Special Audit.
Dr Nzai and the hidden hands in the KEBS tender want the Debarment Committee to make its finding based on the Special Audit report and the other by PIC – these two agencies also recommended further investigations.
Both ATJ and EAA have raised several objections to the PIC report, among them its validity arguing that it was prepared outside the timelines and also that the officers from the Office of the Auditor General who conducted the audit were conflicted.
The Auditor General’s audit report was received in Parliament on August 20, 2019. However, the Parliamentary report was concluded in June, 2020 which surpassed the three-months timeline given to Parliament, meaning it violates Article 229(8) of the Constitution of Kenya, thus raising the questions on validity.
Moreover, emails and other documents made available to PIC showed that the auditing team had their travels and accommodation in Japan arranged by QISJ, an interested party. And while the auditors claimed in the Special Audit report that they had travelled to South Africa, they later recanted this version on record, meaning they were lying.
With such a profile, one wonders why the company maneuvered to clinch the tender and again doesn’t need rocket science to know how.
A judge has revoked the appointments of Bernard Njiraini as chief executive officer of the Kenya Bureau of Standards and Bernard Ngore as chairman of the National Standards Council (NSC).
Justice Maureen Onyango of the Employment and Labour Relations Court quashed the appointments, stating that officials were handpicked contrary to the law, yet the process should be open to public participation.
The judge also quashed appointments of members of the board of directors of the NSC saying the recruitment was not subjected to public participation. The members included Mary Wanja Matu, Helen Kabeti, Fouzia Abdirahman, Patrick Musiu, Edward Njoroge, Eric Mungai, Gilbert Lang’at and Rogers Ochako.
The judge directed the Cabinet Secretary of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives Betty Maina and Attorney General Kihara Kariuki to ensure that the new chairperson and new independent members of NSC are appointed strictly in compliance with the constitution and national legislation.
“A declaration be and is hereby issued that the appointment of the first respondent, on the recommendation of the National Standards Council, of Bernard Njiinu Njiraini as the Chief Executive Officer of Kenya Bureau of Standards, was invalid, null and void ab initio,” said Justice Onyango.
Ms Maina had revoked the appointment of Mr Ngore but he moved back to court and obtained temporary orders, allowing him to stay at NSC.
The official accused the CS of violating the law by illegally degazetting him as the chairman of the NSC, without notice, or affording him an opportunity to be heard or giving him reasons for the decision.
Through a gazette notice on November 14, 2019, the CS appointed the members and the chairman but the decision was challenged by Okiya Omtatah who argued that the officials were not subjected to a transparent and merit-based process.
Mr Omtatah further claimed that Mr Njiraini came in sixth position during the interviews for the job, hence did not deserve the position.
The CS also named Mr Ngore as the chairperson of NSC for a period of three years and revoked that of Ken Wathome Mwatu.
The officials, however, defended their appointments, saying they have the knowledge and expertise to handle the jobs.
The activist argued that Mr Mwatu was a presidential appointee and the CS cannot purport to revoke such as an appointment because he cannot override the President.
“There is absolutely no way that the Cabinet secretary could validly override the President’s appointment,” he said.
Njiraini was arrested for refusing to give EACC detectives original documents related to multimillion-shilling tenders the commission is investigating.
Njiraini was arrested as a penal consequence for failing to comply with a notice issued to him to surrender the documents.
EACC had been investigating allegations of procurement irregularities and payment of bribes in respect of awards for tenders for provision of pre-export conformity of goods, used motor vehicles, mobile equipment and spare parts by Kebs.
The Public Investments Committee (PIC) recommended punishment for Mr Njiraini and the procurement team at Kebs for alleged impropriety in awarding a pre-export verification tender. The National Assembly adopted the report that recommended that the top officer at the state agency be surcharged in the event bidders challenged the award.
The watchdog committee chaired by Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir also recommended that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission probe the circumstances under which Kebs engaged blacklisted firms, EAA Company Ltd and Auto Terminal Japan.
The Auditor-General had in a special audit recommended that the two firms be barred from engaging in such tenders. But the agency went ahead to engage them in its bid to have more firms inspect vehicles being imported into the country.
Njiraini promotions and stay has been at the mercy of crooked cartels- tenderprenuers who he satisfies their needs at the expence of sanity against corruption.
An advertisement dated Thursday, August 26, Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) indicated that the bureau was looking to hire 101 individuals to occupy various posts.
They included an inspection manager and a principal office administrator at the managerial level. Civil engineers, electrical engineers, pharmacists and mechanical engineers.
The process has however come back to haunt the management with MD Bernard Njiraini and Principal Secretary Amb. Kirimi Kaberia taking the big chunk of blame for playing dirty in the recruitment process.
According to an anonymous letter sent to Kenya Insights and copied to other bodies by aggrieved staff, the recruitment process was largely flawed by the management. The staff are petitioning for an open recruitment process. Below is the letter.
With the re-establishment of the East African Community (EAC) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), KEBS activities now include participation in the development and implementation of SMCA activities at the regional level where it participates in the harmonization of standards, measurement of conformity assessment regimes for regional integration. KEBS operates the National Enquiry Point in support of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
We are here to report recruitment malpractices at the Kenya Bureau of Standards.
KEBS advertised 109 positions in the month of September 2021. The deadline for submitting applications was 10.09.2021.
What happened is that the MD (Lt. Col (Rtd) Njiraini) took upon himself to invite the Ministry of Trade and Enterprise Development to be part of the shortlisting and interviewing process. This has never happened before because KEBS recruitments have always been transparent and very objective.
We are made to understand this was done because of the directives from the Principal Secretary Amb. Kirimi Kaberia who is set to run for a political seat therefore he wants to use the employments to reward his political supporters in his village in Meru). Not only have that, the MD himself Mr. Njiraini wants to employ his county political associates for himself and for his friends.
The Principal Secretary State Department of for Industrialization Amb. Kirimi Kaberia.
The MD flouted all the recruitment processes in KEBS overlooking the committee which is charged with the responsibility of all recruitment and instead appointed his spanner boys who do all his dirty jobs.
Below are the names for the so-called shortlisting committee
Murira- this is a Director who was appointed irregularly as a reward to Meru community. This is the man who has set up the whole process. First, he is not a member of the committee and he was appointed to chair the panel. He is been tasked to ensure the interest of the PS. Ambassador Kaberia, Board chair and the larger Meru interests are taken care of at the expense of other applicants.
Kirimi is the mastermind of all the rumours and gossip in KEBS. He is the one in charge of the recruitment system and has ensured he tampered with the system. He gets information from the system and calls people demanding for money in return of recruitment. He is boasting all over that people should know that there are Meru’s at KEBS.
Abdow- this is one of the most corrupt officers in KEBS. The MD uses him to carry out his dirty jobs at KEBS. He got in irregularly and has caused a lot of chaos in HR department since he joined the organization.
Njeru- this is the officer from the Ministry ensure that all Mt. Kenya applicants specifically Gatundu, Meru and Embu are given the jobs.
Miriam- this a very new Director and does not understand the malpractices in KEBS especially recruitments- she is a coverup to cheat the rest of us that the process is fair.
The question is what is going to happen to the rest of Kenyans who have applied if this is what is happening?
We understand there are internal employees who could have benefited from the recruitment but the advert was advertised externally so that it is used for political gains.
According to Public Service Commission and KEBS HR policies, there is a committee charged with advising the MD in all recruitment process and the same has been completely ignored in this particular recruitment.
The MD (Mr. Njiraini has completely run down KEBS since he joined KEBS in 2019. In fact he has been arrested in the past due to corruption. He is still in office courtesy of his godfathers. This MD became MD although he was number six during the interviews)
We have written to your good office so that you can intervene by having the recruitment process stopped or cancelled until the MD appoints credible people to drive the process.
This process is highly compromised, the end result is to benefit Mr. Kaberia (PS), Mr. Njiraini (MD), KEBS Board chair, HOD-HR and his woria friends in KEBS and outside KEBS.
We are, once again, appealing to your good office to intervene by having this process stopped or cancelled altogether. As we are writing the same corrupt team is carrying out short listing.
Njiraini has been exposed on corruption in this site many times.
In October, 2020 last year – Kebs was stopped from expanding a vehicle inspections tender following queries around the process.
Parliament adopted a committee report that seeked to have Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) Managing Director Bernard Njiraini held responsible for litigation that could arise from a controversial tender.
Njiraini was arrested for refusing to give EACC detectives original documents related to multimillion-shilling tenders the commission is investigating.
Njiraini was arrested as a penal consequence for failing to comply with a notice issued to him to surrender the documents.
EACC had been investigating allegations of procurement irregularities and payment of bribes in respect of awards for tenders for provision of pre-export conformity of goods, used motor vehicles, mobile equipment and spare parts by Kebs.
The Public Investments Committee (PIC) recommended punishment for Mr Njiraini and the procurement team at Kebs for alleged impropriety in awarding a pre-export verification tender. The National Assembly adopted the report that recommended that the top officer at the state agency be surcharged in the event bidders challenged the award.
The watchdog committee chaired by Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir also recommended that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission probe the circumstances under which Kebs engaged blacklisted firms, EAA Company Ltd and Auto Terminal Japan.
The Auditor-General had in a special audit recommended that the two firms be barred from engaging in such tenders. But the agency went ahead to engage them in its bid to have more firms inspect vehicles being imported into the country.
In reference to the recruitment process, KEBS has issued a rebuttal to the claims raised by the staffers in the anonymous mail. While replying to the consumer body Cofek, Kebs management and by reflex, are denying any wrong doing in the recruitment.
They said in part “the shortlisting committee for this recruitment was duly appointed in line with its internal processes and the KEBS Human Resources Policy. The ministry of industrialization, trade and enterprise development is the parent ministry (the ministry) to KEBS and is therefore engaged and consulted by KEBS as and when necessary, In this case, the ministry is providing technical and professional human resources support during the recruitment process.”
Section 5 of the Standards Council Act which establishes KEBS only requires KEBS Council to consult with the ministry on the appointment of the director (CEO/MD) of KEBS, not the rest of the staff.
1) The Minister shall, on the advice of the Council, by notice in the Gazette, appoint a Director of the Bureau who shall be the chief executive officer of the Bureau.
(2) The Council shall, after consultation with the Director, appoint such members and staff of the Bureau as the Council may deem necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Bureau under this Act.
While replying to Keb’s rebuttal, the consumer body has further poked holes in the denying statement.
”It is not clear why the ministry and or principal secretary, who sits on the Standards Council, will still have himself and or a nominee on shortlisting committees for internal and or externally advertised jobs. Cofek equally remains a stranger to the KEBS Human Resources Policy – where no specific section was quoted in the KEBS generic response – that was more of a veiled threat than the salient information sought.“
We’ve also learnt that Kebs threatened Cofek to pull down article they had posted earlier on the recruitment petition claiming it had dealt them an unstated disrepute. Suspiciously, they want article taken down without convincing evidence that it was malicious, this is a common threat from corrup leaders who want to hide information from the public and continue operating in secrecy.
Cofek has refused to give into their demands, “
KEBS is a key consumer protection agency. Its a primary partner to Cofek. Recruitment of its’ human resources is, therefore, a critical component of consumer protection. It cannot be gainsaid. Again, in light of Article 10 and especially 35 of the Constitution, information held by government and required in the public interest ought to be released to the public. It is the legitimate expectation that KEBS will provide the required full information.” The body stated.
When the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) floated the tender for Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVOC) of used motor vehicles and motor vehicle spare parts on January 19, 2021, among the entities that collected tender documents was Five Blocks Enterprises. Curiously, Five Blocks did not return the documents as a bidder. But, in the ongoing tender process, Five Blocks, through its sole director Dr Charles Nzai, an Environmental and Natural Resource Economist at Kenyatta University, would be at the centre of the tendering.
The tender has turned into a classic case of dirty tricks being employed to undercut rival bidders, interests converging and diverging, a Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) speaking from both sides of its mouth, the Auditor General seeking to get involved in procurement matters and clashing multiple investigations reports.
In there are debarment proceedings against two bidders, East Africa Automobile Services (EAA) and Auto-Terminal Japan (ATJ), and the Debarment Committee of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) keen on rushing through the consequential proceedings before KEBS concludes tender evaluation. Meanwhile, KEBS, who just a year ago expanded the pool of PVOC inspectors, now appear to be leaning towards going back to monopoly.
Reports suggest that hundreds of millions have been spent by one of the bidders to buy investigators, including members of the Debarment Committee. At least two senior officials at the DCI and KEBS are said to have received bribes to the tune of US$1 million (Sh100 million) each.
After collecting but not returning the tender documents, Five Blocks twice filed reviews with the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB). In the both applications for review, Five Blocks managed to have the tender conditions reviewed and the bidding period extended. A tender that was floated on January 19, 2021 and was originally set to close on February 10 ended up closing on May 5. By the time of closing, only four companies submitted bids for the PVOC for motor vehicles and motor vehicle spare parts: Quality Inspection Services Japan (QISJ), Auto-Terminal Japan (ATJ), East Africa Automobile Services (EAA) and Wilnar International Company.
Five Blocks Director Dr Charles Nzai, a lecturer at Kenyatta University, wrote to PPRA’s Debarment Committee to have ATJ and EAA debarred. Dr Nzai’s firm did not bid.
Before the closing of the tender, and after the two successful applications for reviews, the hitherto dirty tricks shifted into high gear: two of the bidders, ATJ and EAA had to be debarred. Dr Nzai – again – on April 1, 2021, went to the debarment committee seeking to have ATJ and EAA blacklisted and therefore blocked from participating in the PVOC tender.
Looking at the companies who submitted their bids, Dr Nzai’s application would have only meant to benefit one of the remaining bidders if the debarment application was upheld – QISJ because of its experience and financial muscle.
Just to demonstrate how the debarment application was targeted, Dr Nzai wanted his application determined before May 5, the day KEBS had set for the closing of the tender.
The application for debarment was based on allegations stemming from a controversial Special Audit Report by the Auditor General that recommended barring of EAA Company and ATJ, accusing them of forging documents and misrepresenting themselves in the tender that was later awarded to QISJ, allegations the two both companies have vehemently refuted.
Arising from the Special Audit Report, the National Assembly’s Public Investment Committee (PIC) also conducted contentious investigations and also recommended that EAA Company Limited and Auto Terminal Japan (ATJ) be barred from engaging in vehicle inspection tenders.
But in October 2020, High Court Judge Pauline Nyamweya stayed the implementation of parts of the PIC report.
Dr Nzai’s application was based on the Special Audit, which the Parliamentary Investments Committee had submitted to the DCI and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for further investigations. To date, neither of the agencies have produced a report on the investigations.
In fact, when EAA wrote to the DCI on March 25, 2021, inquiring on the status of investigations, John Kariuki responded on May 7, 2021, saying investigations had not concluded, meaning there was no report the Debarment Committee could act upon to convict ATJ and EAA.
In an unprecedented move that contradicted his head of investigations, John Kariuki, DCI boss George Kinoti wrote to KEBS and the PPRA’s Debarment Committee that the evidence against EAA and ATJ was overwhelming. This is despite the fact that the Mutual Legal Assistance the DCI was seeking to send its officers to Japan to verify the documents and physical facilities had not taken place.
“We received information and a host of documents for investigations from the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), the Public Investment Committee (PIC) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). The matter is under active investigation and in the process of seeking Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) to ascertain the authenticity of the documents used to secure tenders at the Kenya Bureau of Statistics. Once the matter is finalised we shall revert,” Mr Kariuki said in the letter.
From here it gets even more interesting.
After Mr Kariuki, who heads investigations at DCI, wrote the letter on May 7, his boss George Kinoti unprecedentedly wrote to KEBS and the PPRA’s Debarment Committee that the evidence against EAA and ATJ was overwhelming. This is despite the fact that the Mutual Legal Assistance the DCI was seeking to send its officers to Japan to verify the documents and physical facilities had not taken place.
Mr Kinoti’s letter was unprecedented because in the ordinary course of events he hardly writes letters concerning investigations. The assignment is often left to the head of investigations, in this case Mr Kariuki. Why was it different this time? We may not know what prompted it.
Fearing that the Debarment Committee, which has not hidden its leanings on the matter, would act on Mr Kinoti’s letter and debar them, EAA moved to court and obtained temporary court orders stopping the committee from proceeding with the hearings.
In the whole confusion surrounding the investigations, there is also the issue of which report(s) to believe. There are at least four different reports: The Special Audit by the Auditor General and the PIC report which was based on the Special Audit. Then there is the 2017 PIC report that was based on actual physical presence of MPs on the ground to verify facilities used by EAA and ATJ and which found that they were compliant. The fourth report is by Interpol, which on several accounts, contradicts the AG’s Special Audit.
Dr Nzai and the hidden hands in the KEBS tender want the Debarment Committee to make its finding based on the Special Audit report and the other by PIC – these two agencies also recommended further investigations.
Emails and other documents made available to PIC, which the Nairobi Law Monthly has seen, showed that the auditing team had their travels and accommodation in Japan arranged by QISJ, an interested party. And while the auditors claimed in the Special Audit report that they had travelled to South Africa, they later recanted this version on record, meaning they were lying.
Both ATJ and EAA have raised several objections to the PIC report, among them its validity arguing that it was prepared outside the timelines and also that the officers from the Office of the Auditor General who conducted the audit were conflicted.
The Auditor General’s audit report was received in Parliament on August 20, 2019. However, the Parliamentary report was concluded in June, 2020 which surpassed the three-months timeline given to Parliament, meaning it violates Article 229(8) of the Constitution of Kenya, thus raising the questions on validity.
Moreover, emails and other documents made available to PIC showed that the auditing team had their travels and accommodation in Japan arranged by QISJ, an interested party. And while the auditors claimed in the Special Audit report that they had travelled to South Africa, they later recanted this version on record, meaning they were lying.
