MPs have questioned why Safaricom was awarded the tender to build the multibillion sophisticated security surveillance and communications system without following the law.
The MPs have also threatened to block the project unless the truth behind it is told.
The members of the Administration and National Security committee that is chaired by Tiaty MP Asman Kamama said the award of the Sh14.9 billion project was shrouded in mastery and therefore cannot be approved by Parliament because the law was violated.
They said awarding the tender to Safaricom was a security risk because Vodacom, a foreign firm is the majority shareholding in the company.
Wajir West MP Abdikadir Mohammed said if the project goes through as planned, it will provide room for foreign nations to spy on Kenya.
“We must be told why Safaricom, a commercial entity must handle sensitive security matters and why it must be trusted to manage security surveillance. That is our irreducible minimum and we will insist that it doesn’t take off until it is given a clean bill of health by this committee and parliament,” said Abongotum.
The MPs also took issue with the Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Lenku and his PS Mutea Iringo for absconding invitations before the committee to clear the air on the awarding of the project.
Lenku was said to be in Kigali- Rwanda attending a security conference while Iringo “deliberately” failed to represent his minister in the guise of attending a national breakfast prayer “that was not mandatory for him to attend.”
Iringo chaired a committee that evaluated the system that will first be implemented in Nairobi and Mombasa, the two cities hard hit by acts of terror and other organized crimes.
The system includes a system of spy cameras linked to computers, will analyze faces and other data to help identify and track suspects. It is also meant to link all security agencies, making it easier to share information and direct police operations.
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