Fury as David Murathe fails to appear for grilling over KEMSA scandal

Jubilee vice-chairman David Murathe, former Kilig limited director Wilibroad Gachoka, and Entec technology director Chen Chao did not attend a session before the parliamentary public investment committee was supposed to unmask the signatories to the Kilig company, which walked away with a Ksh. 4 billion contract from KEMSA.

The three instead, sent affidavits.

Murathe states in his affidavit to the committee that he has never served as a director, shareholder, or beneficial owner of Kilig or Entec technology limited.

He claims he was only asked to be a signatory to Kilig Limited’s bank account to ensure that Entec Technology Limited, the supplier of the PPE kits, would be paid once KEMSA completed the procurement process.

Murathe adds that he ceased to be a signatory on August 5, 2020, after KEMSA’s commitment letter to Kilig Limited was cancelled.

According to Mr. Chao’s affidavit, he was approached in June 2020 by Gachoka and Ivy Onyango with a commitment letter from KEMSA for the supply of 450,000 PPEs and asked his company Entec technology to arrange the supplies from China and provide supplier financing.

The two companies reached an agreement in which they agreed to open an escrow account to receive payment from KEMSA and directly transfer the funds to Entec’s account.

The bank, on the other hand, did not provide escrow account services, so the parties agreed to open an account under Kilig limited, with Chao and Murathe as mandatory signatories.

Mr. Chao claims he asked murathe to be a guarantor for the transaction in order to safeguard and guarantee Entec’s receivables under the supply contract and protect Entec’s investment.

In his affidavit, he describes Murathe as a respectable, high-ranking member of Kenyan society.

Gachoka acknowledged that he was a director of Kilig Limited and that he resigned on April 17, 2020, and transferred his shares, along with his partner Zhu Jinping’s share, to Collins Bush Wanjala, who retained the directorship on behalf of his clients in accordance with the company’s financing partners.

Wanjala’s clients had trouble obtaining funding for the purchase of PPE kits, so the company reached out to different stakeholders, which is when Ivy Onyango was nominated to be the director.

The members of the commission, however, were unconvinced by their answers.

“What they have so far written is extremely very shallow is not candid enough to give us a valuable information and it would have been worthwhile for them to have appeared before this committee so that we could interrogate them further, ” Wajir East MP Rashid Kassim said.
Ruaraka MP TJ Kajwang picked an issue with Murathe’s failure to appear before the panel, saying:

“David Murathe was brought for guaranting the process and because he is a senior respectable kenyan to influence the process this is why we need him because kenyans want to see this big fish who influenced the payments in KEMSA,” Kajwang said.

The committee has now summoned the trio to appear before them on April 29 2021 before they can retreat to write a report on the probe.