Kenya Railways Managing Director, Philip Mainga, is under scrutiny once again after reports emerged about a Ksh 88.2 million tender allegedly awarded to a company owned by his long-time fiancée, in what is being described as an irregular process.
The controversial tender, awarded to First Choice General Supplies, is being questioned by a parliamentary oversight committee and has also caught the attention of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
The tender was awarded in violation of the Public Procurement Act of 2015, with claims that the necessary documents were backdated and the payment processed hastily.
An MP with access to the tender documents has raised concerns, alleging that Mainga has siphoned off too much for the owner to notice, and that the award of the tender to First Choice reflects the ongoing corruption within the state corporation.
The woman behind the company is a known figure in Kenya’s black market and is said to have served as a conduit for diverting funds from Kenya Railways.
This comes just days after reports surfaced about another tender Mainga is linked to, worth Ksh 150 million, for the supply of murram for the Nairobi-Nanyuki railway rehabilitation project.
The tender, KR/SCM/FRC/003/2019-2020, has been flagged for multiple irregularities, including restricted bidding and a deliberate bypass of the Ksh30 million threshold set by the Public Procurement and Disposal Regulations of 2020.
In addition, the corporation is also dealing with allegations surrounding a Ksh 34.5 million tender awarded to Mosrach Limited.
