Nairobi, Sept. 7 -- The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has been faulted for using an undisclosed equipment requirement to disqualify bidders from a Sh1 billion Kisumu branch upgrade tender.

The Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB) found that the CBK listed a requirement for bidders to provide manufacturer authorisation matching existing computer room cooling systems by global firm, Stulz, although the brand was absent from the tender documents.

The board said the requirement was "extraneous, undisclosed and brand-specific", and that CBK could not evaluate bidders against a criterion that was not contained in the tender documents.

The dispute concerned a tender advertised in March 2026 for enhancements and improvements to...