In what appears to be an effort to obscure her involvement, records from the Business Registration Service—obtained by CFK Secretary General Stephen Mutoro and a journalist—indicate that Nightingale’s shareholding and directorship have shifted repeatedly. The journalist works for a media house where CA CEO David Mugonyi was previously employed before joining the public service and later the CA. The records show Wambui transferred her stake to her daughter, Evelyn Nyambura Mungai after Nightingale (EA) Ltd was exposed for securing multiple multi-billion-shilling government contracts
The Consumer Federation of Kenya (CFK) has launched legal action to challenge the allocation of multi-billion-shilling projects under President William Ruto’s digital superhighway initiative, alleging that the process unfairly favours companies linked to Mary Wambui Mungai, chairperson of the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).
This represents a clear conflict of interest, as Mungai, in her role as CA chair, oversees the regulatory body directly involved in the project’s technical cooperation agreement, raising serious questions about the impartiality of the tender awards.
The federation, represented by Ephraim Kanake, Stephen Mutoro, and Henry Ochieng, accuses the CA and the ICT Authority (ICTA) of blatantly disregarding an obvious conflict of interest by awarding multiple contracts to firms connected to Mungai.
Court documents filed by the federation and reviewed by The Weekly Vision show that Nightingale (EA) Ltd secured tenders for the ICTA Digital Superhighway Last Mile and Public Wifi Connectivity project, as well as the Digital Superhighway – Backbone and Metro (Framework Contract). Monthly procurement status reports, signed by Sostanis Okoth, ICTA Deputy Director of Supply Chain Management, reveal that Nightingale (EA) Ltd, a company associated with Wambui, won contracts for OGN OFC maintenance services valued at Ksh 14,383,440 for Q4 2023-24 in July 2024 and Ksh 17,983,440 for Q1 2024-25.
In what appears to be an effort to obscure her involvement, records from the Business Registration Service—obtained by CFK Secretary General Stephen Mutoro and a journalist—indicate that Nightingale’s shareholding and directorship have shifted repeatedly. The journalist works for a media house where CA CEO David Mugonyi was previously employed before joining the public service and later the CA. The records show Wambui transferred her stake to her daughter, Evelyn Nyambura Mungai after Nightingale (EA) Ltd was exposed for securing multiple multi-billion-shilling government contracts.
Initially, Nyambura became the majority shareholder and director, holding 700 ordinary shares in the company, formerly known as Nightingale Enterprises, with Ruth Waithira Kinyanjui holding 200 shares and Thomas Muya Njau 100 shares. H.F. Easterbrook and James Torure Makori were listed as secretaries. Later, Kinyanjui assumed the role of majority shareholder and director with 900 shares, alongside Edward Njenga Muniu (100 shares), while Easterbrook and Makori remained secretaries.
As of 25 November 2023, Kinyanjui and Nyambura were listed as shareholders and directors of a sister company, Nightingale Construction Ltd, with 700 and 150 shares respectively, alongside Gideon Mbuthia Mwangi, who also held 150 shares. Earlier 2023 records for Nightingale (EA) Ltd list Kinyanjui (200 shares), Njau (100 shares), and Easterbrook and Makori as secretaries.
Critics accuse Mungai of a conflict of interest, noting that ICTA’s implementation of the digital superhighway project—a key initiative of President Ruto—arises from a technical cooperation agreement with the CA. The project entails laying 100,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable, establishing 25,000 public wifi hotspots, developing the Konza National Data Centre, creating eight regional ICT hubs and centres of excellence, and enhancing data protection and cybersecurity.
Ruto’s strategy also includes digitising at least 80 per cent of government services via the e-Citizen programme. Under the CA agreement, ICTA was tasked with rolling out 2,500 kilometres of fibre optic cable at a cost of Ksh 5 billion across 19 counties with low internet connectivity over three years.
CFK’s petition asserts that the contract awards violated constitutional and statutory principles of integrity and good governance. “The Kenyan public stands to suffer greatly, risking the loss of billions of shillings in public funds due to the respondents’ actions. The public also faces the consequences of a potentially failed Digital Superhighway project, intended to deliver significant benefits,” it states.
CFK highlights frequent changes in Nightingale’s shareholding as evidence of a deliberate attempt to fraudulently profit from contracts amid a clear conflict of interest. “For instance, Evelyn Nyambura Mungai, the daughter of the first respondent, held 70 per cent of Nightingale (EA) Ltd’s shares until 29 May 2024, just before the initial contracts were awarded. Thomas Muya Njau held 10 per cent, and Ruth Waithira Kinyanjui held 20 per cent,” the petition notes. After Nightingale secured the Digital Superhighway contracts, Nyambura was removed as a shareholder, and Kinyanjui’s stake rose to 90 per cent.
CFK alleges that this restructuring—excluding Nyambura—occurred after tender bids were submitted but before contracts were awarded. “The changes were clearly engineered to hide the true beneficiaries, namely the first respondent through her daughter, Evelyn Nyambura Mungai. Ruth Waithira Kinyanjui appears to be a proxy for Mungai and her daughter,” the petition claims. It adds that Nyambura and Kinyanjui are close business associates, jointly operating Nightingale Construction Ltd, where Nyambura holds 70 per cent and Kinyanjui 15 per cent of the shares.
