Exposed: Big merchants involved in rice bagging and edible oil trading

The Jubilee Party relied on the financial backing of multiple donors in 2017 when it sought to secure the continued presidency of Uhuru Kenyatta and Dr. William Ruto.

Through the Friends of Jubilee Foundation, the party was able to raise billions of shillings, which was funneled into a national campaign and helped secure the presidential and vice-presidential seats for Mr Kenyatta and Dr Ruto respectively. Ta.

Foundation member Ms Mary Wambui did her part by donating an undisclosed amount. Just four years after her election, Wambui was wanted by multiple government agencies on suspicion of tax evasion and money laundering.
There were suspicions in political circles that the charges were politically instigated.

The election went back and forth and Dr. Ruto was declared the winner. The Supreme Court rejected several petitions challenging the results, and on September 5, 2022, all seven judges unanimously upheld President Ruto's victory.

The result rewarded President Ruto's supporters who continued to support him, and things couldn't have gone better for Wambui.

Trade Minister Moses Kuria on Wednesday presented to the Senate a list of 11 companies that the Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) has contracted to import various goods as part of President Ruto's food cost reduction plan. Kuria told the Senate that the public procurement regulator had given permission to KNTC to buy rice, beans, edible oil and fertilizers directly from companies without going through competitive bidding.

But Mr. Kuria did not reveal the methodology he used to narrow down the list of 11 companies, four of which are owned by senior civil servants who may have conflicts of interest due to their dealings with government agencies.

Mr Kuria said 22 companies have been pre-qualified and could be awarded contracts to sell products to KNTC. Half of them are already under contract. Among the documents submitted by Mr. Kuria were financial statements showing KNTC's performance over the past five financial years.

Strangely, there are accounting anomalies in the accounts that Mr Clear did not explain to the House of Lords, including the closing of the 2022/23 financial year, which is not yet over.

KNTC’s revenue for the 2021/2022 financial year was Sh2.7 billion, up from Sh999 million in the previous period. In the same period, the Territorial Government's expenses were Sh268.1 million and its net profit was Sh96.3 million. In the 2022/2023 financial year ending June 30, KNTC recorded a turnover of 9,132 million lice.

This was an increase of Sh6.42 billion or 70.32% compared to the previous financial year.

KNTC's expenses fell to Sh263.4 million (1.75%) and the state-owned company's net profit somehow declined even though the company recorded a significant increase in sales for the current financial year. KNTC's profit decreased to Sh67 million. As a result, net profit decreased by 30.3%.

nation It has been revealed that four of the contracted companies have ties to Wambui. Documents submitted by Mr Kuria to the Senate show that four companies linked to Mr Wambui had been awarded contracts to import edible oil, rice and beans in transactions valued at more than Sh6 billion.

Pluma Holdings will also sell 30,000 tons of rice and 20,000 tons of beans to KNTC. Mr. Kuria did not mention the value of the cost of food types, which could help companies determine what profits they could make by selling food to KNTC. According to Business Registration Service (BRS) records, the company was founded on February 13, 1996. Mrs Wambui is the sole shareholder with her 1,300 shares.
In his submission to the Senate, Mr. Curia did not provide specific details of the import amounts for each company.

However, the document I saw was nation It shows that KNTC is buying 20 liter jerry cans of cooking oil for $26 (Sh3,647). Contractors buy each jerrycan for $20 (Shs2,806).

12,500 tonnes of cooking oil is equivalent to approximately 702,000 jerry cans. This means Wambui's Pluma Holdings will sell oil worth $18.2 million (Sh2.5 billion). Of this amount, 4.2 million dollars (589 million lice), excluding expenses such as taxes and shipping, will be Pluma's profit.

In another deal, Sharma Holdings Ltd was contracted to import 535,950 jerry cans of edible oil and 20,000 tonnes of red kidney beans.

The company was founded on July 31, 2007. Ms Ruth Waitira Kinyanjui, a close associate of Ms Wambui, is listed as the sole shareholder with 3,600 shares.

Mr Kinyanjui, along with Mr Wambui's daughter Evelyn Nyambura Mungai, is a co-owner of another company, Nigale Enterprises, which is actively doing business with the government. Nigale Enterprises recently won a multi-billion shilling tender to install fiber optic cables.
Ministry of Finance CS Professor Njuguna Ndung’u has allocated Sh1.3 billion for digital expressway projects in the 2023/2024 financial year.
Kinyanjui's address in Charma Holdings' BRS ownership records is the same as Wambui's personal address in other official government documents.

Charma Holdings will sell edible oil worth $13.9 million (Sh1.95 billion). The company's profit, excluding taxes and expenses, was $3.2 million (Sh451 million).
Mr. Kuria also told the Senate that Enterprise Supply Co. will sell 6,250 tonnes of cooking oil to KNTC. This is equivalent to approximately 350,000 20 liter jerry cans.

This means Enterprise Supplies Ltd will sell oil worth $9.1 million (Sh1.2 billion).

Of this amount, $2.1 million (294.6 million lice) is the company's profit after taxes and expenses. Mrs Wambui is listed as the sole shareholder with her 550 shares in Enterprise Supplies. Incorporated on January 13, 2010.
In a separate contract, Evertec General Trading Company Ltd will also supply 6,250 tonnes of edible oil to KNTC. It is also expected to make a profit of $2.1 million (294.6 million lice) before taxes and expenses.

Evertec General Trading Company Ltd was incorporated on April 10, 2008. George Maina Wanjohi is listed as the sole shareholder.
Mr Kinyanjui, the sole shareholder of Charma Holdings, is listed as the contact person for Evertec General Trading Ltd. Her contact details can be found in her Evertec ownership records.

Evertech's name was mentioned in court proceedings when the Democratic Party's office sought to drop tax evasion charges against Wambui, her daughter Purity Njoki, and Pluma Holdings.

Wambui's lawyer told the court a chronology of events, including the freezing of bank accounts belonging to her company.
The companies she named were Evertec General Trading Company Ltd, Njest Suppliers Ltd and Daydot Ltd.
She claimed that her bank account was frozen to prevent her from paying the Sh50 million cash bail granted by the court after she was charged.

Interestingly, Evertec General Trading Company Ltd was among several companies listed as beneficiaries of the major procurement disruption that occurred at the National Youth Authority in 2018.

Investigators from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said the company received 67.8 million lice, one of several companies targeted for procurement fraud investigations that resulted in billions of dollars in losses in the scandal, known as NYS II. It was revealed that it was included in

However, Evertec Trading Company Ltd is not charged in court documents and has not been implicated in any wrongdoing.

Other local companies that have been awarded contracts with KNTC include Makram Imports and Exports Ltd, Standard Petroleum and First Quality Supplies. Makram plans to sell 25,000 tons of rice to KNTC.

The company was founded on April 27, 2021. Mr. Abdirahman Muhumed Kaynan is listed as the sole shareholder with 100 shares. The company had been established for just over a year when KNTC approached them about the US contract. First Quality Supplies has signed a contract to sell 25,000 tons of his CAN fertilizer. The company is owned by Milam Chepkosgei Saina, who holds 90 shares.

According to ownership records, First Quality Supplies borrowed $12.25 million (Sh1.71 billion) and Sh2.1 billion from an undisclosed bank in April 2023.

The timing of the loan suggests the company may have borrowed money to fund the contract with KNTC, and the amount represents a large amount for the fertilizer supply contract.

Standard Petroleum Ltd is listed as unaudited by BRS. This means the company has not complied with the requirement for all companies to declare details of their shareholdings and directorships in the Companies Register. Therefore, its ownership records are not available.

In his response to the Senate, Kuria provided documents showing the company is listed as unidentified, meaning neither KNTC nor the ministry may know who owns the company. means. Standard Petroleum has a contract to sell 12,500 tonnes of urea to KNTC.

The state-owned company also has contracts with four UAE-based companies for the sale of fertilizer, edible oil and rice.
Lamar Commodity Trading DMCC, Multi Commerce FZC, Lone Trading FZE, Invest Africa FZCO. Lamar Commodity Trading has a local subsidiary with the same name, registered on July 20, 2018.

Three Kenyans named Abdi Mohamed Abdi (600 shares), Kenneth Dedan Kimachi (200 shares) and Anthony Kimeu Muindi (200 shares) are shareholders of Lamar Commodity Trading (Kenya) Ltd. They are connected. Lamar plans to sell 30,000 tons of NPK fertilizer to KNTC. .

Invest Africa also trades with KNTC through its local subsidiary Shehena Commodity Ltd. The local subsidiary is wholly owned by Invest Africa. Shehena will sell 353,540 edible oil jerry cans worth $9.1 million (Sh1.2 billion) to KNTC. Of this amount, the company will earn $2.1 million (294.6 million lice) excluding taxes and expenses.

Multi-commerce FZC will sell 2.276 million jerry cans of cooking oil and 10,000 tonnes of rice worth $59.17 million (Sh8.3 billion) to KNTC. The company is registered in Dubai but has no local office.

Loan Trading FZE will sell 1,592,000 cans of cooking oil and 52,500 tonnes of rice worth $50.7 million (Sh7.1 billion) to KNTC.