By Mwaniki Munuhe
KENYA: The High Court has allowed a case challenging the award of a tender to print millions of ballot papers to proceed.
Three firms are seeking to stop the multi-billion shilling deal between the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and a supplier in the UK. The case has been allowed to proceed on grounds the petitioners – Kalamazoo Secure Solutions, Ren-Form CC and Aerovote – have raised credible concerns on how the contract was awarded.
On Friday, High Court Judge George Dunga said procurement by public bodies should never be done “indiscriminately and in a clandestine manner.”
Efforts by IEBC and the supplier, Smith & Ouzman, to block the petition were unsuccessful.
In challenging the deal, the petitioners question Smith & Ouzman’s financial capacity to print the ballot papers, saying the company has made losses for the last four years. They also claim the company is under investigation by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), a matter that could interfere with the printing and delivery of the ballot papers. The SFO would not confirm or deny the firm was under investigation.
The petitioners have also raised issues in regard to inconsistencies in the contract ranging from the dates of acceptance, award, international delivery conditions, bidding and whether or not IEBC, a public institution, subjected the deal to competitive tendering.
