MPs allege plot to scuttle Covid-19 case

Members of Parliament (MPs) yesterday warned of a plot to sabotage the prosecution of powerful individuals behind the Sh7.8 billion Covid-19 procurement scandal.

This even as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) announced it will charge 35 individuals who were allegedly involved in the Covid-19 heist.

The 35 include 29 persons, public officials, directors, companies and associates/ agents while the remaining eight are companies identified to have engaged in irregular procurement of medical supplies at Kemsa.

They include Kilig Limited, Shop ‘N’ Buy Limited, Accenture Kenya Ltd (now Meldian Enterprise Ltd), Angelica Medical Supplies Limited and Wallabis Ventures Limited, Meraky Healthcare Limited, Gladiab Supplies Limited and Steplabs Technical Services Limited.

The lawmakers who sit in the National Assembly Committee on Implementation announced that they had summoned the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Renson Ingonga to explain the inordinate delay in prosecution of those involved In the scam.

The committee chaired by Budalangi MP Raphael Wanjala wondered how both the DPP and the EACC took more than three years to approve files whenever they landed in their offices.

They further raised questions on how three years later since the billions of shillings were looted, no single person has been charged in court due to the back and forth between the DPP and EACC.

The move came after documents presented by EACC Chief Executive Twalib Mbarak before the committee showed that on October 2, 2020, after EACC had forwarded the inquiry file to the DPP for prosecution, the DPP returned the file to EACC with recommendations to cover additional areas.

On October 22, 2020, the Commission re-submitted the file to the DPP having addressed the issues raised. The documents however show that on September 13, 2021, the DPP returned the inquiry file with further directions. The file would later be re-submitted by the commission to the DPP‘s office in October 2022 after covering all the issues.

On January 26, 2023, the DPP again returned the file back to the commission for further investigation. It was not until November 3, 2023 that the anti-corruption agency returned the file to the DPP’s office for action.
Said Wanjala: “These files have taken another whole year. Members you can now see how Kenya is. After EACC concluded the investigation they started playing monkey games. They take one year to discuss which areas are not covered.”

And added: “You concluded the investigation within time and after that you submitted the report on various dates. This grey area that the DPP is talking about is how come you did not see them. You took a year to resubmit your responses.”

Igembe North MP North MP Julius Taitumu claimed there was a deliberate effort to sabotage the said probe.

He said: “After the recommendations by EACC, what other directions is the DPP giving? It is now clear that this is a scheme to ensure the investigations fail.”

He added: “This one does not require rocket science to understand there is a deliberate move to sabotage the process. This further direction from the DPP takes four years. It is common knowledge that something is wrong. We need to write a report for parliament to act on it. We can see it’s a scheme.”
Mandera South MP Abdul Haro claimed that the DPP is the biggest obstacle in the fight against corruption.

He said: “The biggest weak link in this investigation is the DPP. We did not invite him because we had no reason for it but now, we have a reason and we are going to call him here.”

Marakwet West MP Timothy Toroitich sought to know the exact investigations areas that the DPP sought EACC to expound on.

He said: “This file is being returned by DPP citing that there is need to cover additional areas. Is it an admission that EACC did not carry out a thorough investigation? What are these additional areas that DPP ordered you to cover? Are you saying the DPP is hindering the fight against corruption?”

Kajiado Central MP Memusi Kanchory regretted that for a long time the so-called billionaires have been walking scot free.