Members of the National Assembly (MPs) have directed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to investigate the firm that supplied the kits being used in the ongoing Huduma Namba registration.
In a unanimous agreement, the members of the Public Accounts Committee have drafted a report to aid the DCI to carry a probe on IDEMIA, formerly known as Safran Morpho, a French information technology company for its role in the 2017 polls.
Speaking on the issue, Majority Leader Aden Duale noted: “Why should they have double standards, what OT Morpho is doing in Kenya it can’t do in Paris, or London, or USA…where you see such change of name, iko ukora…”
Duale was among MPs who accused the company of flouting the law by entering into a multi-billion shillings contract with IEBC, yet at the time they did not have a physical address in Kenya.
According to the legislators, the DCI and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) ought to undertake investigations to identify the criminal actions committed by the company that supplied over 40,000 Kenyan integrated election management kits.
Read: Machakos Huduma Namba Registration Assistants Arrested Over Missing Data
They were also quick to notice that the French firm failed to follow the required procedures for it’s registration in the country as stipulated by the Companies Act 2015.
Luanda MP Stephen Omulele stated: “This company should have registered within our jurisdiction. If it did not, it cannot be excused because this is the same parliament that made the company law, that requires a company to have local footprints before being awarded such huge contracts.”
The MPs also instructed the DCI and DPP to probe all contracts entered into between IEBC and IDEMIA.
Parliament further suggested that all monies unlawfully paid under these deals should be recovered and the company directors prosecuted.
The French firm has within three years changed names from M/S Morpho to OT Morpho then Safran Identity and Security and is currently known as M/S IDEMIA.
According to the MPs, the changing of names is very suspicious and calls for the investigation of the company.
During the 2017 August general elections and October 2017 repeat elections presidential polls, IDEMIA was awarded tenders worth Ksh6 billion to provide election technology.
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