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Deal on airport buses was above board, says suspended KAA boss

June 19th, 2015 1 min read

Suspended Kenya Airports Authority Managing Director Lucy Mbugua has said the procurement of buses to ferry passengers to and from planes at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport was done in accordance with the law.

Ms Mbugua told the National Assembly’s Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing on Thursday that the decision was made by the authority’s board of directors.

“This procurement was transparent and the law was followed to the letter, and where it deviated, it was solved within the law,” said Ms Mbugua.

She presented to the committee a summary of the process that started with the approval of the board in February 2011 for KAA to have the concession for the purchase and management of apron buses.

The tender was awarded in May 2012 and a team was formed to negotiate with Relief Mission and Logistics on the operation of the buses, which would go into the contract.

The first negotiating committee, however, went outside its mandate and its recommendations were ignored and another team set up, which handed in its report in April 2014.

Ms Mbugua is among six KAA senior officers, who were suspended after the President questioned the bus deal.

The other five are Finance Director John Thumbi, Legal Counsel Victor Arika, Procurement Manager Lilian Okidi, airport engineer Christopher Warutere and head of examination, Mr Martin Kungu.