Omtatah wants Kebs vehicle inspection tender revoked
Activist Okiya Omtatah has moved to court seeking orders to suspend the decision by Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) boss Bernard Njiraini to award a tender to two companies to inspect imported used vehicles.
Under a certificate of urgency, the activist wants the High Court to bar the managing director from implementing the move to award EAA company Limited and Auto-Terminal Japan Company tenders. The contact allows the two firms to inspect pre-owned vehicle imports, mobile equipment and spare parts.
“This court is enjoined to stand up to this lawlessness and cascading corruption by suspending and later quashing the contracts,” reads Omtatah’s court documents.
He argues that the contracts were awarded in defiance of express directives from authorities, including the National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee (PIC) and Auditor General.
The activist termed the matter urgent given that the contracts have taken effect and need to be interdicted and reversed to protect the public interest and constitutionalism.
Signing of contracts
According to Omtatah the contracts were signed on March 21, only four days after the two companies were notified of the award, contrary to Section 135(3) of the Public Procurement and Assets Disposal Act, which requires that a period of 14 days must elapse between notification and the signing of contracts.
He added that in further breach of the Act, the contracts commenced on March 19, which was only three days after the notification on March 16.
Further, Omtatah claims the contracts were awarded in contemptuous disregard of the findings of the Auditor General’s office in its special report which recommended the debarment of the two companies.
According to the court documents, the auditor accused the two firms of providing forged and falsified documents and misrepresenting themselves in a bid to win an earlier lucrative tender that was later won by others.
The Auditor General’s special audit report is now a subject of ongoing investigations by the National Assembly’s PIC.
