The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested two senior officials from Liaison Group Insurance Brokers over allegations of colluding with the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) to fraudulently secure a Ksh.40,539,760 medical insurance tender.
Julius Kitheka, the General Manager of Healthcare at Liaison Group, and Danson Kaba, the Mombasa branch manager, were arrested following a search operation conducted by the EACC at the insurance broker’s offices in Nairobi and Mombasa. The arrests are part of an ongoing investigation into growing instances of private insurance companies collaborating with government agencies to illegally acquire tenders for medical insurance coverage at inflated costs.
The EACC has accused Kitheka and Kaba of masterminding the fraudulent scheme on behalf of Liaison Group Insurance Brokers. They allegedly worked in collaboration with Henry Mwasaru, the Head of Human Resources and Administration at KMA, and Bevaline Lundu, the Head of Supply Chain Management at the agency.
Court orders from the Mombasa Chief Magistrates Court led to Kitheka’s arrest after a search of his Nairobi residence. He was then escorted to the EACC’s Integrity Centre for processing. Meanwhile, Kaba was arrested in Mombasa and processed at the EACC’s regional offices. Mwasaru, who was attending a training session in Naivasha, was also arrested and brought to the Integrity Centre.
Preliminary investigations by the EACC suggest that Liaison Group won the tender through bid-rigging, where senior officers of the company prepared and finalized the tender before forwarding it to KMA for an advertisement inviting bids.
