A trader who majors in the chicken selling business on Wednesday, February 24 denied having the support of Deputy President William Ruto in a Ksh1 billion tender that was processed in a record 24 hours.
James Cheluley, the director of Shop N Buy, testified before a parliamentary committee probing the Ksh7.8 billion scandal involving the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA) scandal.
He was grilled by the National Assembly's Public Investment Committee (PIC) on how he got such a lucrative tender for a company that had only been registered two months before the deal.
Cheluley claimed some media houses had reported an MP linking Deputy President Wiliam Ruto to his company but denied having any relationship with the DP.
"The deputy president did not help my company in any way and we have no relationship, I only saw it on the news after an MP made the claims. I heard about the tender from my clients who are; Trade shop, Edu Matt and Bennet Ventures after which I wrote a letter to KEMSA with the intention of securing the tender," the businessman testified.
In response to his letter, Cheluley said that he received a commitment letter to supply 100,000 PPEs and 100,000 KN95 masks worth Ksh1 billion within 24 hours.
He was also questioned why he failed to file tax returns as is required by the law. The company in question was hardly three months when it won the tender, something that raised eyebrows with the committee.
The witness pointed out that Shop N Buy paid Ksh687,000 to Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) which is 60 percent of the supplies that were imported and supplied to KEMSA. Due to this, the committee raised questions with Cheluley on why he did not pay the tax required.
It was noted that documents produced by KRA Commissioner General Githii Mburu indicated that the goods imported for supply to KEMSA by Shop N Buy were declared to be Ksh10 million worth at the port during import.
Defending himself on the questions raised on payment of taxes, the businessman said that his firm was unable to file returns since they have not yet been paid by KEMSA.
The secretary for the procurement director Pamela Kaburu said that she was under instructions from the suspended Chief Executive Officer Jonah Monari to backdate a commitment letter to Shop N Buy.
MPs gave the witness three days to give more details and unveil the names of people suspected to aid him in winning the Ksh 1 billion tender, with such a young company.
This case is among many others that involve unexplained cases where individuals were awarded huge tenders by KEMSA in unexplainable circumstances.
