Court gavel./FILE
A multi-million tender to refurbish the National Public Health Laboratory has been suspended after a South African firm moved to court to stop it.
The firm that had bid for the contract accuses Afya House of locking it out unfairly even after passing the technical evaluation stage and submitting the lowest financial bid.
Ministry of Health, through AMREF re-advertised the dubbed AMREF/11/02/2025/005-01 with submission slated for May 25, 2025, which was later moved to May 28.
MoH and AMREF Health Services are expected to file their responses this week.
The tender is known as Expression of Interest-Proposed Design Works, Refurbishment of Biosafety Level 2 (BSL2) Laboratories at the National Public Health Lab (BLOCK-B) for the Division of National Laboratory Services, Ministry of Health.
The National Lab situated at KNH was completed in 2016 but did not comply with international standards on the section that handles tests on contagious diseases such as Tuberculosis.
Since 2020, there have been plans to reconfigure the lab, but the ministry keeps canceling the tenders.
The project is funded jointly by the government and by donors through the Global Fund, which is administered by AMREF; hence, the participation of the health NGO in the tender process.
The bidder, Air Filter Maintenance Services International (PTY) Limited, claims that the procurement process is shrouded with irregularities.
The law requires a procuring entity to put on hold any process once a case has been filed at the review board to await its determination.
The South African firm states that it gave a US $3,867,704.48 (about Sh500 million) proposal and a sound technical bid.
The case for a review was filed last week at the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPAB) with the Ministry of Health listed as the first respondent. AMREF Health Africa is listed as a second respondent.
Both Afya House and AMREF were served on Friday 15 in the case, which seeks, among other things, orders to prohibit the Ministry of Health (MoH) from signing the contract with another firm.
Air Filter states in court documents that it received a regret letter on July 29, 2025, through an email notifying them that their Request For Proposal was unsuccessful.
Air Filter, through their local agent Humphrey Lwamba, says the tender process flouted several laws, including failure to disclose the reasons for rejecting its bid.
“The procuring entity did not provide the applicant with the reasons for rejecting its bid,” the affidavit filed through the law firm of Maosa and Company Advocates reads in part.
“The Board is pleased to order a re-evaluation of the subject tender herein and compels the Respondent to award the tender to the applicant, being the lowest evaluated responsive tenderer, in accordance with Section 86(1)(a) of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act, 2015,” the application reads in part.
