Trans Nzoia Senator Allan Chesang has sent a cease-and-desist notice to Standard Group demanding retraction of a report linking him to a fraudulent ambulance tender scheme at Harambee House. The DCI has clarified that the seven arrested suspects were not government employees. The senator denies any involvement.
On March 20, 2026, Trans Nzoia Senator Allan Chesang sent a formal cease-and-desist notice through his lawyers to Standard Group PLC, threatening a defamation lawsuit unless they retract a story published in The Standard newspaper and broadcast on KTN under the headline 'The Masterminds of the Harambee House Tender Scam'. The report named Chesang and two of his allies as linked to a fraudulent scheme involving fake Toyota ambulance tenders at Harambee House, where suspects impersonated officials from the Ministries of Interior, National Treasury, and Health to lure foreign investors. The notice gives a 48-hour ultimatum. 'Our Client categorically denies any involvement whatsoever in the said alleged scheme and further denies any knowledge of, or association with, the individuals referred to as his aides,' the notice stated. It also disputed an older claim about a 2021 case involving a Ksh180 million laptop tender. The DCI, via Director of Corporate Communications John Marete, clarified that the seven suspects arrested on March 10, 2026, were external actors, not government employees. The scam began on January 10, 2026, with payments of Ksh14.1 million on January 30 and Ksh46.4 million on February 11, totaling Ksh60.6 million from a Chinese company. Suspects presented forged documents promising five-year tenders. They have been charged with conspiracy to defraud, forgery, and related offences. Standard Group has not responded publicly as of the latest reports.