e-Citizen platform at risk of collapse amid contract controversy

Contrary to earlier assertions by senior government officials, newly tabled contract documents before the National Assembly Committee on Security and National Administration reveal that the platform does not fully belong to the government.

The contract, signed on May 25, 2023, outlines terms for the support and maintenance of the e-Citizen platform. Crucially, it grants the private contractors—M/S Webmasters Kenya Limited, Pesa Flow Limited, and Olive Tree Media Limited—the right to dismantle the system in the event of termination, regardless of the circumstances.

“In the event of termination, howsoever occurring, the Suppliers shall be entitled to rescind, withdraw or otherwise uninstall all their proprietary infrastructure and resources, including all technical infrastructure whether software or otherwise, that may have been deployed in order to enable them to provide their services under this Agreement,” the contract reads.

Furthermore, the agreement exempts the suppliers from any liability in case of termination, placing the burden on the government to indemnify them against any resulting claims, data loss, system downtime, or service unavailability.

These revelations have prompted serious concerns within Parliament, with two committees launching investigations into the agreement amid fears over national security and financial exposure.

“It’s very scary from a national security and financial standpoint,” said Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma. “We’ve tried severally to get answers from the State Department. The former PS insisted E-Citizen is fully government-owned, but the contract says otherwise.”

Lari MP Mburu Kahangara echoed the sentiment, questioning the credibility of past statements by government officials.

Adding to the concerns, Saku MP and Committee Vice-Chair Dido Raso questioned the legality of the contract’s execution, noting the absence of a signature from the Principal Secretary for ICT.

“I don’t see any PS signature on this document, yet the PS is the accounting officer. Why are such crucial contracts not properly endorsed?” Raso asked.

Committee Chair Gabriel Tongoyo criticized the ICT Department for allegedly attempting to withhold the documents from Parliament. “We’ve been asking for this document for over two months. It seems there was a deliberate attempt to hide the truth, and we won’t take that lightly,” he said.

The committee has requested more time to study the documents before summoning Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang for questioning.