A five-year World Bank ban has landed on Webmasters Kenya Ltd and its director James Ayugi after the global lender found the company had given false information about key experts in a Somalia project and later failed to fully cooperate with an audit.
The World Bank Sanctions Board issued the decision on June 8, 2026, declaring both Webmasters and Ayugi ineligible to take part in World Bank-financed projects for a minimum of five years.
The case involved two projects in Somalia — the Somali Core Economic Institutions and Opportunities Project - Phase 1, known as the Score Project, and the Somalia Capacity Advancement, Livelihoods and Entrepreneurship through Digital Uplift Project.
The Bank's Integrity Vice Presidency (INT) investigated the conduct and concluded that the respondents had misrepresented the availability of two experts whose CVs appeared in a technical proposal submitted for the Scaled-Up Project.
The experts had been presented as key members of the proposed team, with their documents accompanied by certifications indicating that they were available to undertake the assignment if the contract was awarded.
The Board said the two individuals were not available as represented and that their CVs had been used without authorisation.
The issue did not end at the tender stage, with the Bank finding that the same representation was repeated when the parties held negotiations before the contract was finalised.
The two experts were subsequently included in the contract despite the concerns over their availability.
According to INT, the move was meant to deceive the project implementation unit and the World Bank and secure an improper financial advantage of US$98,000, being the amount allocated to the two experts as remuneration under the agreement.
“The Respondents do not specifically address this element of INT’s allegation of fraud but acknowledge broadly that ‘certain statements made in the course of the [Scaled-Up Project] selection process were inaccurate’,” the Sanctions Board said.
The Board also found a separate breach involving the Bank's efforts to examine the contracts.
INT had issued an audit letter requesting documents from the respondents, but the Board said most of the requested material was not provided in a meaningful way.
The failure to provide the records was found to have interfered with the World Bank's inspection and audit rights, forming the second basis for the sanctions.
The first project at the centre of the case was the Score Project, which was created to support Somalia's private and financial sectors, encourage investment and create employment opportunities.
On February 15, 2016, Somalia entered into an agreement with the International Development Association (IDA), acting as administrator of the Somalia Multi-Partner Fund, for $3.3 million (Sh432 million).
The project's implementation was placed under Somalia's Ministry of Finance. It became operational on May 16, 2016, and was closed on September 30, 2020.
On April 24, 2018, the project implementation unit invited companies to submit proposals for a consultancy aimed at automating business activities in Somalia.
A consortium of three firms won the contract, with Webmasters Kenya Ltd taking part as a sub-contractor.
Ayugi later signed the agreement on behalf of the group on November 20, 2018. The contract was valued at $330,000 (Sh43.2 million).
The second project, the Scaled-Up Project, focused on expanding access to digital financial and government services while promoting business opportunities and employment, especially for women.
Somalia secured Special Drawing Rights worth $13 million (Sh1.7 billion) from IDA under a financing agreement signed on April 10, 2019.
The project became effective on August 8, 2019, and was initially overseen by the Ministry of Finance before responsibility shifted to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Its scheduled closing date is June 30, 2026.
Webmasters, through Ayugi, was later awarded a contract by the Scaled-Up Project's implementation unit through direct contracting.
The agreement, signed on September 16, 2020, covered Business Automation Registration - Phase II.
Before the deal was signed, Ayugi submitted the company's financial proposal on July 25, 2020, followed by its technical proposal on August 6.
The technical submission named the two experts and included their CVs alongside certifications that indicated they were available to work if Webmasters received the contract.
The Bank's investigation later determined that the availability claims were not accurate.
INT also concluded that the respondents failed to provide most of the information sought during its examination of both the Score and Scaled-Up contracts.
The Sanctions Board therefore found Webmasters responsible for fraudulent and obstructive practices under the World Bank's January 2011 Guidelines on the Selection and Employment of Consultants by World Bank Borrowers.
Under the decision, Webmasters cannot receive or benefit from contracts financed by the World Bank during the minimum five-year period.
Ayugi has separately been declared ineligible for any Bank-financed contract and cannot participate as a sub-contractor, consultant, manufacturer, supplier or service provider for an eligible firm.
He is also prohibited from receiving proceeds from a World Bank loan or otherwise taking part in projects financed by the institution.
The ban comes with a conditional release. This means the respondents will not automatically regain eligibility after five years and must first satisfy the conditions laid down by the Sanctions Board.
The ruling also applies to affiliates that are directly or indirectly controlled by either Webmasters or Ayugi.
“The Respondents’ ineligibility shall extend across the operations of the World Bank Group. The Bank will also provide notice of these declarations of ineligibility to the other multilateral development banks (“MDBs”) that are party to the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions (the “Cross-Debarment Agreement”) so that they may determine whether to enforce the declarations of ineligibility with respect to their own operations in accordance with the Cross-Debarment Agreement and their own policies and procedures,” the Board ruled.
Webmasters Kenya Ltd is linked to the development and operation of Kenya's eCitizen digital services platform. However, the World Bank case concerns the firm's conduct in connection with projects in Somalia and does not relate to the operation of eCitizen.