• Question MPs at PIC want to be answered is how the contractor raised money for the huge contract with support from influential individuals.
• Also of concern is why the company only declared Sh10 million supplies, said to be 60 per cent of the business, from which it paid Sh687,000 tax.
A land and chicken dealer under investigation in the Sh7.8 billion Kemsa scandal has denied any links with Deputy President William Ruto and Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja.
A land and chicken dealer under investigation in the Sh7.8 billion Kemsa scandal has denied any links with Deputy President William Ruto and Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja.
James Cheluley, director of Shop N Buy, said his company has no ties with the two or any other influential persons in the country.
He said the purported ties are a creation of the media, adding that he has at no point approached the respective offices to help him win a bid at Kemsa.
Cheluley told the Public Investments Committee that he saw the mention of the DP as having a link to his committee in one of the local dailies.
Sakaja was dragged into the saga by a Kemsa secretary who insinuated that the senator was at the offices when she was asked to backdate the entity’s letter.
Shop N Buy letter was reportedly issued on May 5 but backdated to April 30 as Kemsa had put a stop to further commitments.
Cheluley rebuffed the assertions, saying he is his own man and worked his ways to get the capital he needed for the contract.
“My name is James Cheluley. I have no godfather. I am the only director of the company. I have been in business for over 20 years. The influential person in this issue, therefore, is me,” he said.
Even so, the question of the existence of a godfather behind the Sh970 million contract for supply PPE continued to linger among members.
PIC members said a Sh1 billion transaction is not normal for an ordinary Kenyan, “unless the big names being dropped could be true".
The committee chaired by Abdulswamad Nassir (Mvita) further questioned why the company only remitted tax of about Sh687,000 from the huge supplies.
Nairobi Woman MP Esther Passaris asked: “Who is your (Cheluley’s) godfather? Who is this person that fronts you that would make sure a CEO of a parastatal responds to you in 24 hours? I am assuming [suspended Kemsa CEO Jonah] Manjari was very busy.”
Ruaraka MP Tom Kajwang’ weighed in saying even MPs, with the influence they have, cannot pull such a contract with the ease that Shop n Buy got it.
“Who are you? Who in this room can do such a thing? Is it so unreasonable to wonder that you as James can do these things without support from other quarters?
“We come from the same country chief. How else could you do a thing like this? Are we unfair to ask you that someone is behind you?” Kajwang’ asked.
The MPs further cast doubt on whether the supplier could raise the capital that was needed to finance the multimillion-shilling tender.
The committee said it can be concluded that the company was formed "to defraud Kenyans", having been incorporated in February 2020, days before the Ministry of Health declared the first Covid-19 case in the country.
Barely three months after its inception, it was granted a commitment letter by Kemsa to supply 100,000 PPE and 100,000 KN95 facemasks. It has yet to be paid.
Mandera East MP Mohamed Omar said: “The company was registered for Covid-19 items. You cannot register a company and get Sh1.03 billion tender a month later. My opinion was that this company was registered to defraud Kenyans of money.”
On the tax question, Cheluley said he opened the company’s account later as KRA did not immediately assign him with a PIN after registration.
“We have not declared because we have not made invoices to Kemsa. We have not been paid for the supplies,” the trader said.
On how he raised the money, the trader said he had Sh7 million in his accounts at DTB and Middle East Bank, and had transacted in excess of Sh50 million through his two other companies before Covid-19 struck.
He owns Elite Ventures – one of the companies, which deals in property, while Kukuchic deals in breeding day-old chicks.
MPs asked that he provides cash books that can reveal over Sh50 million transacted from other companies.
Cheluley said he also supplied to some entities that sold PPE to Kemsa in April netting around Sh30 million.
He named Bennet Ventures Ltd – which is also under probe – as among those he traded with, since “they already had a good relationship with Kemsa.”