KEMSA ghosts haunt Mutahi Kagwe during vetting

Mutahi Kagwe, nominee for the position of Agriculture & Livestock Development CS before the Committee on Appointments Chaired by the National Assembly's Speaker Moses Wetangula at the Mini Chambers, County Hall, Nairobi. January 14th,2025. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary nominee Mutahi Kagwe faced tough questions during his vetting over the 2020 KEMSA procurement scandal, in which billions of shillings were lost in the procurement of COVID-19 medical supplies.

A report by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu revealed that KEMSA lost Sh2.3 billion due to irregular procurement processes. 

The report, tabled in the Senate, detailed how tenders worth over Sh9 billion were awarded without budgetary approval, board authorisation, or proper oversight by the Ministry of Health.

One glaring example was the awarding of a tender to an unqualified bidder without following due process.

Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Appointments on Tuesday, January 14, Kagwe admitted to procurement irregularities but defended his role, claiming he fought cartels and invited investigators to probe the scandal.

“In 2020, there was an abuse of procurement processes at KEMSA and other agencies, including the Ministry of Health. Cartels operated within these institutions, and I know similar challenges exist in the Ministry of Agriculture. However, we initiated a complete reengineering of KEMSA, including staff changes and structural reforms. I personally invited investigators to assess these changes,” said Kagwe. 

Mutahi Kagwe: The handling of COVID-19 was a nightmare. While procuring PPEs, money took a secondary position because it was a matter of life and death. I admit there was abuse of process, and mistakes were made, but what we bought, we bought at market price at that time. It is… pic.twitter.com/rYjD5QWkvU — KTN News (@KTNNewsKE) January 14, 2025

He attributed some of the procurement challenges to a global shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) at the time.

“A PPE that would normally cost Sh9,500 was being sold at Sh20,000. We had to buy at those prices because saving lives was the priority,” Kagwe explained, noting that the crisis spurred the local production of PPEs, which are now available for as low as Sh2,000.

He further acknowledged mistakes made during the crisis but said that global market forces influenced procurement costs. 

“The Ministry of Health wasn’t paying higher prices than the rest of the world. The problem was the scarcity of PPEs. Once we started local manufacturing, prices dropped significantly,” he added.

If approved, Kagwe will take over the Agriculture docket from Andrew Karanja, who was nominated as ambassador to Brazil.