Kemri bosses grilled over parallel NGO

What you need to know:

  • The NGO, RCTP Faces, was set up without Kemri’s involvement but employees of the research facility are on the board.

  • Suspended CEO Solomon Mpoke said the organisation was set up as donors prefer channelling their funds through NGOs.
  • Prof Mpoke and Dr Njoroge said Prof Elizabeth Bukusi was among the founders of the NGO but quit when she was appointed Kemri deputy director.

Top officers of the Kenya Medical Research Institute were Tuesday hard pressed to explain how employees were allowed to set up a non-governmental organisation that competes with it for donor funds.

The NGO, RCTP Faces, was set up without Kemri’s involvement but employees of the research facility are on the board. At stake is Sh1 billion received from donors annually.

Suspended chief executive, Prof Solomon Mpoke, told the Health Committee of the National Assembly that the organisation was set up as donors prefer channelling their funds through NGOs.

FLOW OF FUNDS

But this eventually caused a concern, said Prof Mpoke. “Kemri has been concerned about the flow of funds regarding the NGO. If we have other agencies running after the same funds as we are, this cannot be good for Kemri.”

He said Kemri has been receiving money from projects that were initiated before the NGO was set up and that the institution has no formal relationship with RCTP Faces.

Kemri employees who are at the same time working for the NGO are chief executive Patrick Oyaro and Dr Betty Njoroge, who sits on the board but has verbally asked to resign.

Prof Mpoke and Dr Njoroge said Prof Elizabeth Bukusi was among the founders of the NGO but quit when she was appointed Kemri deputy director.