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How Jubilee Insurance Has Been Manipulating State Officials To Win Tenders Worth Billions

Jubilee Insurance is now on the spot for manipulating several state officials to secure tenders worth billions cumulatively.

Kahawa Tungu‘s investigative desk has discovered that in the last two years, Jubilee has been directly contacting state agencies in which tender documents that are prepared with specifications that favor Jubilee.Underwriters trying to compete with Jubilee find it hard to win the tenders because mandatory requirements and the scope highly favor them.

For instance, in the period we investigated, Jubilee won a medical tender with Kenya Forest Services worth Ksh324 million, another with the Agricultural finance Authority worth Ksh26 million, Public Service department (Ksh89 million), Teachers’ Service Commission(TSC) (Ksh350 million) and IEBC (Ksh218 million).

The underwriter also won the TSC Medical tender through AON  worth Ksh8 billion. This writer learns that this tender was specifically prepared for Minet Insurance brokers, Pioneer Insurance Company and Jubilee as the main underwriter for medical consortium, with the capitation section under Nairobi West hospital who are the only organization offering that form of services.

Read: Corruption, Kickbacks Take Centre Stage As IEBC Returns Insurance Tender To Jubilee

The underwriter also won other tenders with the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), New KCC (Ksh58 million) and the Kenya National Highways Authority (Ksh77 million). The New KCC tender is said to have been engineered by CEO Mr Nixon Sigey.
In the Public Service tender, Jubilee was to provide medical cover for cabinet secretaries, chief administrative secretaries, principal secretaries and other senior civil servants in Job group ‘U’ and above.
According to documents in our possession, Jubilee insurance offered the service at Ksh89 million, APA insurance at Ksh94 million, Madison Insurance at Ksh90 million, UAP insurance at Ksh75 million while CIC insurance offered the same at Ksh57 million. In such a scenario, the lowest best bidder would have been picked, which would have been CIC Insurance or UAP which were relatively lower.
According to inside sources at Jubilee insurance, at the time of bidding, the CEO Mr Julius Kipng’etich told staffers that the tender process was just a formality, and that Jubilee had already been picked.
Read: IEBC Suspends Employees’ Jubilee Insurance Medical Cover
In another tender involving NHIF Group Life tender that had Jubilee against UAP, Jubilee was picked despite flouting several rules such as failing to present its premium in the prescribed format, quoting below the recommended IRA rate and failing to commission some documents.
It is alleged that awarding entities used flimsy grounds to knock out Jubilee competitors.
In the New KCC tender advertised early this year, the management through Sigey announced that it would be a two-stage tendering for general insurance services in violation of Public Procurement & Asset Disposal Act 2015 Section 99 (1-3). Two stage is only recommended for Request For Proposals (RFP), and not tenders.
The tender was awarded to two companies, Jubilee Insurance and Geminia Insurance. In the tendering documents, Jubilee had quoted Ksh54 million while Geminia had quoted Ksh48 million. The award was split into two, with Jubliee receiving Ksh13 million and Geminia getting Ksh41 million.
The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority termed it an illegality to award the tender to two underwriters, but nothing was done to rectify the mistake.
The Kenya Forest Service tender KFS is said to be facing resistance
Read: Racist White South African Bosses Call Nissan Kenya Employees ‘Monkeys’
The IEBC deal is said to have been pushed through by senior officials in May this year, despite several complains by staffers about Jubilee services.
The IEBC HR and administration director Mr Mohamed Hassan, procurement director Mr Harley K Mutisya met Jubilee team led by general manager Dr Patrick Gatonga and corporate sales manager identified as George, in a bid to retain the account at Jubilee. In the company of the Jubilee team was Juliana Njue from the procurement department and and Waweru, who were to work with Njuguna from Jubilee to hack a way forward.The three were tasked to hack a way forward that would see Jubilee retain the account, amidst heightened competition from different companies that were bidding for the tender.George, who was to be the mastermind prepared documents aimed at locking out other bidders.

On May 8, the pre-bidding conference was held at Stanley Sarova where some changes were proposed at the document prepared by George. Several issues were deliberated and were to be attached to the addendum.

Jubilee uploaded the document on May 10, with new conditions that locked out all the other underwriters, with the aim of remaining alone in the deal.

After several complains from other insurers and in-fightins within IEBC, a new addendum was introduced on May 17, opening a window for other bidders.

Read: Trouble at USIU-Africa as Director of Administration Jared Raburu is Sacked

Agitated Jubilee Insurance wrote to IEBC challenging the new move by implicating the commissioners led by chairman Wafula Chebukati.

Several firms bid for the tender, with Heitage Insurance floating a bid of Ksh245 million, Britam Ksh244 million, CIC Ksh228 million, Jubilee Ksh218 million, AAR Ksh210 million, UAP Ksh210 million and Madison at Ksh199 million.

Feeling a sense of possible defeat, Jubilee cartels met the IEBC tem on May 22 at Jacaranda Hotel where it was agreed that Jubilee would deal with IEBC directly, but not through an agent. This was meant to open a door for IEBC officials to receive kickbacks, which would have otherwise been paid to the agent.

Read: City Lawyer Joel Kimutai Accused Of Scamming Japanese Businessman Ksh72 Million In Fake Gold Saga

The agent was to receive Ksh20 million for sealing the deal. However, the amount would go to the ‘team’ from IEBC, in which 50 percent would be paid in cash during evaluation period.

In the meeting it was also agreed that Jubilee would meet the entire committee before evaluation. This was to strategise how the other underwriters would be eliminated, most probably by scoring them poorly during evaluation.

On May 24, Juliana and Waweru led the evaluation committee to an undisclosed venue in Lavington to meet Jubilee officials led by George.

Read: “Officers from the Auditor General’s Office Demanded Ksh100 million” – Governor Mike Sonko

On May 25, the committee axed UAP and AAR in a meeting held at KICD Ngara, for unknown reasons. All other underwriters scored at least 90 per cent on technical aspects.

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