Former Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakumincha has spoken out about the suspected scam involving former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s participation in the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) tender worth Ksh3.7 billion.
On Monday, Nakhumicha appeared before the National Assembly’s Defence, Intelligence, and Foreign Relations Committee after being nominated as Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Habitat.
The former Health CS answered some pressing concerns about her time on the Health docket.
During the debate, Belgut MP Nelson Koech specifically questioned the former CS about her involvement in the alleged meddling with the KEMSA tender for mosquito nets valued Ksh3.7 billion.
In response, Nakumincha denied any awareness of the controversy, claiming that she just became aware of it after charges against Gachagua went viral.
“With the information that I was given, his involvement was not there,” the former CS told the parliamentary committee.
“I got to learn of his involvement when the House was going through the impeachment process. That is how I got to learn that most likely he had been.”
Gachagua, who was ousted from his position as Deputy President in October 2024, was accused of influencing the bidding process to favor two companies affiliated with his sons.
Nakumincha also appeared to clear the former DP of any wrongdoing, claiming that no evidence indicated Gachagua was involved in the tendering process.
She further alleged that by the time charges against Gachagua were presented before Parliament, her tenure as CS had come to an end. She further alleged that by the time charges against Gachagua were presented before Parliament, her tenure as CS had come to an end.
Following the claims against Gachagua, the former DP denied them in a televised appearance, calling them ‘ridiculous and false.’
“Where was the Deputy President involved in a tender? This is a tender that never was. For the record, the suspected officers were exonerated,” Gachagua said. in October amid an intense battle to retain his DP seat.
The former DP said that there was an ongoing inquiry into the purported tender, in which numerous key individuals were cleared of any misconduct.
Although rejecting the knowledge of Gachagua’s allegations in the KEMSA controversy, Nakumincha conceded to some shortcomings during her time as Health CS.
That includes the inability to appropriately address the 56-day physicians’ strike.
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