Police asked to seize JamboPay offices over NHIF scandal

Police have been directed to secure the offices of a company connected with the multi-billion shilling scam at the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).

This followed an order from the High Court that also barred two directors of Webtribe Limited — Danson Muchemi and Robert Muriithi — from accessing their offices at Nairobi’s View Park Towers. The firm trades as JamboPay.

The Directorate of Public Prosecutions is convinced that the NHIF opted for the more expensive leasing arrangement for collecting revenue through Webtribe to perpetrate and camouflage fraud.

Webtribe Limited was tapped to instal an internally managed system which would have cost between Sh400 million and Sh600 million, the contract it signed was for offering a payment solution to NHIF at a fee of between four and 4.5 per cent of collections.

Between 2014 and August this year, when NHIF eventually bought its own stand-alone system to which JamboPay would offer only technical support, up to Sh1 billion had been lost in commission payments. Anti-Corruption Court (ACC) chief magistrate Douglas Ogoti ordered Mr Muchemi and Mr Muriithi not to enter View Park Towers.

“I direct State prosecutor Carol Kimiri to extract this order and serve the same on Muchemi and Muriithi who are not in court,” Mr Ogoti directed.

While urging the court to preserve the office, the computers and documents, Ms Kimiri said Webtribe had been hired to collect revenue through the Integretated Revenue Collection System on behalf of NHIF.

Webtribe’s computer servers are housed at View Park Towers.

Payments to NHIF are made through its system. She said all claims made to NHIF are channelled through Webtribe.