Firm linked to OT-Morpho bids for Kenya's multi-billion currency printing deal

david nganga

January 12, 2018 12:56 PM

OT-Morpho was involved in the controversial supply of IT services to IEBC in the 2017 polls.

A company linked to OT-Morpho, the French IT firm that was at the centre of the controversial supply of IT services to IEBC for last years Kenyan polls, is among four European bank note printing firms betting on winning the lucrative tender to print and supply Kenya’s new-look currency.

Oberthur Fiduciare will face off with British printer De La Rue International, Swedish firm Crane AB and German-based Giesecke & Devrient for the Sh10 billion-a-year printing tender.

The submission of bids comes a few days after the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB) cancelled the multi-billion tender awarded to De La Rue by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) following a petition filed by Crane AB.

The procurement agency panel called the process of the award to De La Rue “unlawful”, saying the CBK abused the 15 per cent local preference clause while consequently directing the lender to make a fresh evaluation of all the tenders submitted to it within 14 days. The CBK has since appealed the board’s decision at the High Court.

OT-Morpho had been contracted for the supply of 45,000 biometric authentication kits for voters as well providing IT support to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for the 2017 presidential election.

The firm denied claims of alleged hacking and manipulation of computer servers, the electronic authentication and electoral results transmission systems during the August 8 General Election.

The French group rebranded itself as IDEMIA following the May 2017 merger of Oberthur Technologies (OT) and Safran Identity & Security (Morpho).

Francois-Charles Oberthur Fiduciaire also featured in a controversial multi-billion shilling contract for the supply of electronic passports more than 10 years ago prior to the merger of all its activities and card systems to form Oberthur Technologies in 2011.

The privately owned French printing group was founded in 1842 and is controlled by the secretive multi-billionaire Savare family.

david nganga