Board cancels Judiciary’s Sh198m security bid, orders it re-advertised

The Public Procurement Review Board (PPRB) has cancelled the disputed Sh198 million tender awarded to Lavington Security and directed the Judiciary to re-advertise it.

The PPRB, chaired by Josephine Mong’are, delivered its verdict on Friday after Bedrock Security challenged the award.

Bedrock provided the services for the last two years and had hoped for an extension.

“In view of the findings, the application by Bedrock to review the tender award to Lavington is hereby allowed; the decision of the Judiciary to award the alleged winner is declared null and void,” Ms Mong’are said.

The dispute went to court when Judiciary’s Chief Registrar Anne Amadi issued a memo giving Lavington leeway to replace Bedrock in all stations countrywide when the latter had already filed an appeal before the board.

But High Court judge George Odunga directed that the status quo be maintained and that the board should rule on the matter since it was already before it.

In the verdict, the board ruled that the procurement process was flawed since two judicial officers were adversely mentioned for soliciting bribes from the firms participating in the tendering and therefore ordered that they be investigated.

“The board recommends that investigations be commenced against the alleged officers… it is clear that their conduct during the tendering process was not above board,” Ms Mong’are ruled.

According to Bedrock, the net effect of the memo was that they had to remove security officers from all judicial stations countrywide, a move which the firm termed unlawful and in excess of the jurisdiction of the Chief Registrar, adding that her conduct was unfair.

They also claimed that the memo had ignored their complaint, which is already before the review board, hence they sued Ms Amadi seeking to quash the memo.

The Judiciary’s procuring entity advertised a tender for the provision of security services and invited interested parties to bid in November last year which saw 15 firms participate.

Bedrock claimed that Lavington, which won the tender, did not have a bid price at the tender opening.

They further allege that Lavington employees paid a visit to the Judiciary in preparation for taking over, a move that prompted Bedrock to write a protest letter to Ms Amadi over the outcome of the tender.

The case will be mentioned today before Justice Odunga.