During a December 29, 2024 Board of Management meeting, Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) CEO Evanson Kamuri declined to sign a report which highlighted several anomalies in a Sh443.6 million tender awarded to Biomax Africa Ltd two years earlier. 

Dr Kamuri, a seasoned dermatologist who was appointed KNH CEO in 2019, told the Board that it had no power to investigate procurement contracts, and questioned the engagement of the hospital's biomedical engineer, Patrick Chepkonga, as the document's drafter.

For generations, Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) has been a symbol of hope for millions of Kenyans.

Its wards have hosted the country’s most vulnerable patients, and its doctors have performed “miracles” with limited resources.

But today, the hospital stands at the centre of an alleged scandal so severe that it has left not just the institution, but the entire nation, gasping for answers — and, in a tragic twist, for air.

At the heart of this crisis are two persons of interest: Susan Mochache, the former Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Health, and Leonard Njeru, a little-known contractor with budding political ambitions.

Together, they are alleged to have orchestrated a procurement scandal that has left KNH without a functioning oxygen plant, even after taxpayers paid nearly Sh300 million.

This week, the affair claimed its first high-profile casualty. Dr Evanson Kamuri, the hospital’s CEO, was suspended and forced out of office.

His bank accounts, holding more than Sh48 million, have been frozen, and several of his properties in Nairobi, Kirinyaga and Kajiado are under investigation.

The trail of the scandal now extends from the wards of KNH to the highest levels of government.

The project has stalled, and it has not escaped notice that as Kenya’s healthcare system teeters, Mr Njeru is preparing to run for Parliament to represent Mbeere North Constituency on the ticket of the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA).

The seat was left vacant after President William Ruto appointed MP Geoffrey Ruku to the Cabinet. Meanwhile, Ms Mochache has quietly exited the Ministry following new appointments by President Ruto upon assuming office.

The stakes could not be higher. The matter now sits before the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), and the weight of the allegations is being felt not only in government offices but also in the lives of ordinary Kenyans who depend on KNH for life-saving care.

The Nation investigates

Documents reviewed by the Saturday Nation show that the story begins in 2022, inside the imposing walls of Afya House, headquarters of the Ministry of Health.

Investigators allege that it was here, under the technical leadership of Ms Mochache, that a crucial decision was made: the Ministry, not KNH, would procure a new oxygen generation plant for the hospital.

The rationale for why the procurement would originate at Afya House was never made public, but insiders claim the move was both unusual and unnecessary.

KNH, a semi-autonomous parastatal, has its own procurement capacity and had managed similar projects in the past.

Enter Mr Njeru, director of Biomax Africa Limited. With little track record in large-scale medical infrastructure, Mr Njeru nonetheless emerged as the winning bidder for the Sh443.6 million contract.

Investigators now believe the documents that secured Biomax Africa the deal were falsified, and that the Ministry’s tender evaluation committee — under Ms Mochache’s watch — failed to conduct even the most basic due diligence.

According to a report by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) seen by Saturday Nation, the committee is alleged to have “failed in carrying out its duty of care by not conducting due diligence on the bid documents before awarding the tender to Biomax Africa Limited.”

The report goes further, alleging that Ms Mochache and her team “failed to ensure that the procurement process conformed to the law before awarding the contract.”

The contract was signed, and Dr Kamuri, then CEO of KNH, was summoned to witness the ceremony. But almost immediately, the project was mired in confusion. KNH was not the procuring entity and therefore could not execute or oversee the contract.

As the oxygen plant project faltered, Dr Kamuri found himself in an impossible position — caught between a board demanding answers, Afya House mandarins breathing down his neck, and a contractor who was running out of breath when it came to delivery.

With legal landmines everywhere, KNH’s management knew it could not act blindly.

Run to PPRA

Seeking to protect the hospital and ensure compliance, the management sought formal guidance from the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), the country’s authoritative body on procurement.

In a detailed advisory letter dated March 25, 2024, the PPRA addressed KNH’s urgent queries about the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015, and its regulations.

KNH wanted clarity on the roles of various committees, the process for contract extensions, and — most critically — whether and how a contract procured by one entity could be transferred to another for implementation.

The PPRA’s response was unambiguous: while a Contract Implementation Team (CIT) is required for complex contracts and can recommend variations, the ultimate responsibility for a contract lies with the accounting officer of the procuring entity — in this case, Afya House. Contracts could be transferred between entities, but only with proper approval and a formal addendum.

The PPRA also stressed the need for legal and technical input in contract management, but made clear that the law’s intent was to prevent exactly the kind of confusion now engulfing KNH.

The addendum that KNH executed to enjoin itself to the original contract was informed by international best practice, aiming to create a direct contractual relationship between KNH and the contractor, as the project shifted from Afya House to the hospital.

This move, while intended to clarify roles and responsibilities, would later be scrutinised by EACC investigators, who questioned whether it was sufficient to resolve the underlying legal ambiguities.

Despite the Ministry’s apparent directive, it is far from certain that KNH ever received the full legal authority or operational mandate required to execute the contract as the principal entity.

Based on the PPRA’s advice, KNH prepared and executed the addendum to formalise its relationship with the contractor — an action that EACC investigators have since questioned.

KNH also granted at least three contract extensions to Biomax Africa, hoping the contractor would deliver, but these moves only complicated an already troubled project that remains in limbo to date.

Meanwhile, Biomax Africa, working with French manufacturer Novair Group, was supposed to deliver a fully functional oxygen plant.

Instead, two years later, the hospital is still buying oxygen from private vendors — a cost that would have been needless had the plant worked as promised.

Documents reviewed by this nation show that between July 2023 and February 2024, KNH spent more than Sh168 million on liquid oxygen — money that could have been saved if the plant had been delivered.

The contractor, meanwhile, has sought multiple extensions, blaming everything from inadequate power supply to the physical site of the installation.

Failed attempts

At one point, the oxygen purity delivered by the plant was as low as 60 percent — far below the 95 percent required for medical use.

KNH, desperate to make the project work, even purchased a generator to address the power issue. Still, the plant remains non-functional.

As the project stalled, a flurry of letters flew between KNH and Afya House.

The hospital repeatedly pleaded for the Ministry’s support in holding the contractor accountable. But Afya House, the architect of the deal, offered little more than bureaucratic shrugs in place of solid support.

The documentary trail suggests a pattern of shifting responsibility and blurred lines of authority — raising critical questions about who, ultimately, was accountable for the failed oxygen plant, and whether the hospital was ever truly empowered to deliver on the Ministry’s promise.

Now, as the file sits before the DPP, investigators face the hefty duty of examining not just individual actions, but how the law itself was applied — or ignored — at every stage.

The outcome will test the strength of Kenya’s procurement laws and the resolve of its oversight institutions.

While the legal wrangling continues, the real cost is being borne by patients and staff at KNH.

The hospital, which handles some of the country’s most critical cases, has been forced to operate in crisis mode.

Oxygen vendors require at least two months’ lead time to import supplies, leaving the hospital vulnerable to shortages. Doctors and nurses, speaking on condition of anonymity, describe a climate of fear and frustration. “We are always on edge,” said a senior clinician.

“If there is a surge in demand, we could run out of oxygen. It’s unthinkable.”

The stakes could not be higher. Kenya’s healthcare system is under immense strain, and KNH is its linchpin. The failure to deliver a functioning oxygen plant is not just a bureaucratic blunder — it is a national emergency.

As the DPP reviews the EACC’s findings, the country waits with bated breath. Will those responsible be held to account? Will the hospital finally get the oxygen plant it so desperately needs? Or will this scandal, like so many before it, fade into the background, leaving patients and taxpayers to pay the price?

For now, the hospital continues to buy oxygen, the plant sits idle, and the architects of the crisis remain at large. The lesson is clear: when accountability is absent, even the air we breathe is not guaranteed.

The oxygen plant scandal shows the cost of failed leadership in public institutions. At a time when the country needed strong stewardship, Kamuri’s management choices contributed to waste, fraud, and the loss of public trust.

His name will now be tied not to medical service but to a health crisis worsened by corruption. What remains is whether accountability will follow or if this will become yet another high-profile scandal where the main players walk free while Kenyans carry the burden.