Head of Public Service Koskei denies alleged plot by Gov’t to acquire spying software

Head of Public Service Felix Koskei has refuted reports of a plan by the government to purchase software to spy on Kenyans and the opposition as well as manage President William Ruto’s communications.

The report was published by the Daily Nation on Tuesday, and alleged a plot by senior government officials – including Koskei - to acquire an online propaganda platform aimed at countering criticism of President Ruto's administration and support his re-election bid.

Other officials mentioned in the said plot included; Treasury Principal Secretary Chirs Kiptoo, the Attorney General, President Ruto's speech writer Eric Ng'eno, and health sector entrepreneur Jayesh Saini.

According to the report, based on a case filed at the Milimani Law Courts on Monday by Mary Wachuka Maina, revealed the alleged plot following a disagreement between President Ruto's acolytes and the owners of the Ksh.120 million (USD 923,346) software.

Koskei, in a subsequent statement to newsrooms, rubbished the report, stating that he has never even met Ms. Wachuka.

He went ahead to dismiss claims of such a plot by the Kenya Kwanza administration, saying there exists no need to acquire such a software.

“My attention has been drawn to a headline story in The Daily Nation claiming that I am associated with Ms. Mary Wachuka Maina, who is alleged to own Jipe Inc. and to be involved in a so-called ‘confidential software to spy on targets and manage strategic communications,’” said the Chief of Staff.

“Ms. Mary Wachuka Maina and/or Jipe Inc. are strangers to me; The story itself acknowledges that the only time I was purportedly supposed to meet Ms. Wachuka, the meeting never took place.”

He added: “To my knowledge, as Chief of Staff and Head of the Public Service, I am not aware of any procurement of such software by the Government. Furthermore, there is no Government need, nor will there ever be a need, for such software.”

Koskei further slammed the local daily for dragging his name into the story without at least according him a right of reply.

He went ahead to urge the media house to retract the story and furnish him with a public apology on the same newspaper, failure to which he will seek legal redress.

“Additionally, I take great exception to the use of my name and photograph in this misleading report. No effort was made to contact me for my response before publishing this defamatory and baseless claim. This omission is not only irresponsible but also appears to be a deliberate attempt to tarnish my reputation,” noted Koskei.

“I, therefore, demand an immediate retraction of this story and a public apology from The Daily Nation. Failure to comply with this demand will leave me with no option but to pursue legal redress to protect the name, stature and image of this office.”

PS Kiptoo, also mentioned in the said plot, has also dismissed the report, labeling it as inaccurate and misleading.

"These allegations are absolutely unfounded. First, I wish to state plainly that I have never met or interacted with Ms. Mary Wachuka Maina, the individual alleged to have filed a lawsuit on this matter," he said.

"I have no knowledge of her claims or of any plans by the government to procure the equipment described. Second, the article claims that ‘confidential accounts’ exist within the National Treasury, from which funds would allegedly be allocated for the purported scheme. This is entirely untrue. No such accounts exist, and the operations of the National Treasury are governed by strict legal and regulatory frameworks."

Further, the PS slammed the local daily's decision to place his photograph on its front page alongside what he terms an unsubstantiated story, further demanding a retraction of the piece.

The case, filed by Wachuka, a dual Kenyan and Canadian citizen, outlines how public funds were allegedly withdrawn to source the technological solution.

The software, developed by her company Jipe Inc., was reportedly designed to manage the President and his deputy’s social media platforms, monitor opposition figures, and even influence public sentiment through psychometric profiling.

Court documents add that the deal was drawn up on November 7, 2023 at a restaurant in Kilimani with Ng'eno directing Wachuka to immediately commence with the venture.

No legal contract was signed but Ng'eno allegedly claimed that he would reach out to senior government officials to finance the project.

On November 22, Wachuka, Ng'eno and Saini reportedly met in Nairobi where the developer was allegedly informed that the health sector entrepreneur would supervise the project.

On December 17, Ng'eno allegedly reached out to Wachuka informing her that he had touched base with President Ruto who pledged to commission finances for the project on December 18.

Subsequently, on December 20, Wachuka sub-contracted an American firm Texos to help her with the project, paying an initial Ksh.60 million (USD 460,000) for their services

"There was USD 12,000 (Ksh.5 million) per week for delayed payments for the project. Under the agreement, 60 percent of the contract sum that is Ksh.36 million (USD 276,000) was due as a down payment on January 31, 2024, while 40 percent, USD 184,000 (Ksh.24 million) was due on delivery of the software on February 28," the Nation report reads.

Wachuka is now seeking over Ksh.172 million compensation for a breach of contract as she had to cover the initial fee and pay Ksh.122 million in fines to Texos after the government allegedly failed to keep its end of the bargain. She also alleges harassment and threats by government officials.