Biting Mosquitoes Nets Top KEMSA Officials

In what can only be termed as selfish and inhumane, the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority yet again hit the headlines over a multi-billion mega mosquito nets scandal that saw a tender worth 3.7 billion shillings awarded to a bidder who did not meet the requirements according to the Global fund.

However, this time around the purge on individuals alleged to have taken part in the scandalous procurement process has been staged after President William Ruto in a letter through the Chief of Staff Felix Koskei sent the principal secretary Josephine Mburu home and dismissed recently appointed KEMSA chairperson Daniel Rono with the board also disbanded.

In the letter, Mr. Koskei described the purge as a move to promote accountability within the scandalous medical authority. “The head of state is committed to ushering in a new era in the management of our nation’s healthcare by ensuring that no Kenyan is denied the dignity of affordable medical care” read the statement in part.

The scandal has costed the authority a whopping 370 million shillings in revenue after the cancellation of the flawed procurement process by the global fund.

The global fund last year questioned and raised concerns over thousands of missing mosquito nets and drugs worth 10 million that were said to be missing from the authority’s warehouse and were reported to have been stolen and later on resold into the market

The decision to fire top Health and KEMSA officials came just a day after President Ruto indicated that he was aware of the scandal and had thrown a spanner into the works.

“What this space, I am doing something, you will see results. I will clean KEMSA, whatever it costs, I will clean it.” Said Dr Ruto in an interview with journalists on Sunday at State House Nairobi.

China’s Tianjin Yorkool is reportedly the company that had met all the Kenyan and Global Fund procurement laws to supply 10.2 million treated bed nets but was unfairly excluded from the evaluation process.

Despite the sacking of the board, questions linger as to whether those found culpable will be held to account and be charged with the same in a court of law.

Some of the counties that were to benefit from the Mosquito nets include Elgeyo- Marakwet, Kirinyaga, Mombasa, Lamu, Tana River Baringo, Kisumu, and Migori among others.

The revelations by the Global Fund comes barely a year after the International Monetary Fund called for a fresh audit over the spending of the Covid-19 funds insisting that at least 17 billion shillings were unaccounted for after the procurement saga of the Covid-19 medical equipment.

In a scandal dubbed ‘Covid Billionaires’ officials from the authority procured PPEs at exaggerated prices after the IMF had channelled 173 Billion to the country in the fight against the deadly virus.

However, it is the hope of the affected individuals that unlike the Covid-19 scandal justice will be served.