IDEMIA, the French IT firm that was controversially awarded Sh6.8 billion to supply Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) kits in the 2017 General Election risks has been barred from participating or entering into any kind of procurement payable using public money for 10 years.
Formely known as Safran Morpho, the company also supplied kits being used in the ongoing Huduma Namba registration.
However, the firm could be blacklisted from future transactions with Kenyan institutions.
This is after MPs on Tuesday adopted a special report by the Public Accounts Committee on the accounts of the IEBC by Homa Bay MP Peter Kaluma seeking the IT firm be investigated for continually violating and contravening the mandatory provisions of the Companies Act.
They also accuse the firm of purporting to do business with IEBC before being registered in Kenya.
Majority Leader Aden Duale, Ruaraka MP Tom Kajwang, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro were among MPs who supported the amendment citing that the change in company name over the last few year had raised questions.
“Why should they have double standards, what OT Morpho is doing in Kenya it can’t do in Paris, or London, or USA…where you see such change of name, iko ukora…,” said Majority Leader Aden Duale.
The controversial French firm has within 3 years changed names from M/S Morpho to OT Morpho then Safran Identity and Security and is currently known as M/S IDEMIA.
In February this year, the firm’s senior vice president Olivier Charlanes told the PAC committee that Kenya had received value for money by procuring and deploying IDEMIA systems.
He declared: “As a company, we have no doubt that we dutifully provided a robust system to IEBC, as part of our corporate commitment to empower citizens to vote in ways that are now possible in a connected environment.”
IDEMIA operates from over 180 countries and has a longstanding presence in Africa including Kenya. Since 2008, the company has provided the Kenyan Police with a criminal Automated Palm and Fingerprints Identification System (APFIS) and in 2012, the company delivered a biometric voter registration system to the IEBC in the run-up to the General Election in order to support IEBC building a secure and accurate electoral roll.
During the probe, the management of IDEMIA admitted that the firm did not have a local representative after the committee served the head office in France.