The private firm that is running eCitizen has proposed premium charges for Kenyans who want to access expedited government services. The eCitizen private firm, Webmasters Kenya, says that it has already engaged the government on its proposal.

“We have advised the government to introduce fast-track services. There are people who can pay Sh20,000 to Sh30,000 because they are paying it anyway only for other guys to pocket the money,” said James Ayugi, the chief executive officer at Webmasters Kenya.

Ayugi says that the government can have fast-track departments across all the agencies whose work is just to fast track premium clients who want to come in, pay top dollar, and get their services almost instantly.

The proposal comes at a time when the ownership of eCitizen has been called into question, with the government at pains to explain who actually owns the platform.

Last week, a report by the the Auditor General Nancy Gathungu showed that private firms whose owners and shareholding structures are mysterious pocketed Sh1.45 billion from eCitizen in the 12-month period ended June 2024.

The private firms pocketed Sh591.9 million from charging the convenience fee of Sh50 per service done on eCitizen, and an additional Sh857.2 million for the maintenance of the eCitizen systems.

“The statement of revenue collections and transfers reflects revenue from commission (convenience fees) of Sh591,988,503 and total transfers in Kenya shillings and United States denominated amounts of Sh857,210,458,” the report stated.

Apparently, the primary firm among the trio is Pesaflow which is officially gazetted to collect money from Kenyans seeking services on the platform. This firm was registered on August 24, 2017.

Who owns eCitizen? Questions emerge after puzzling revelations

According to a report that appeared in a local newspaper, Pesaflow Limited acknowledged billing the government between Sh100 million and Sh200 million per month.

This firm’s beneficial owners and the type of contracts it has with the government, the newspaper reported, are unknown. It is however associated with software developer James Ayugi who is also associated with Webmasters Kenya and Olivetree Limited, companies that also have ties to eCitizen.

In 2022, the shareholders of Pesaflow were listed as Evid Araka Sibi and Frank Lawrence Weya with 3,000 shares each. Further, Charles Wambani Sewe and Larry Ochieng Agoro have 2,000 shares each in the firm. These individuals had also been working for Webmasters.