Lead image for James Ayugi on the spot after World Bank bans eCitizen firm Webmasters Kenya for five years.
The World Bank has debarred Webmasters Kenya Ltd, the company known for creating the eCitizen platform, and its CEO, Mr James Ayugi, from conducting business with the institution for five years following a project in Somalia that was executed in a questionable manner.
According to a debarment notice issued in June 2026, the World Bank said the CEO and his company would not be able to conduct any business with it for five years, a finding that the firm has described as too harsh for an “administrative lapse”.
“Pursuant to Sanctions Board Decision No. 147 issued in Sanctions Case No. 790, the Sanctions Board imposes a sanction of debarment with conditional release for a minimum period of (5) years on both the firm Webmasters Kenya Ltd., and the individual Mr James Ayugi,” said the notice.
The trouble for Webmasters Kenya stems from its involvement in two World Bank-backed digitisation programmes in Somalia, the Score Project, which ran from 2016 to 2020, and the Scaled-Up Project, launched in 2019.
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Both initiatives aimed to help the Somali Ministry of Commerce and Industry build a Single Business Registration System to modernise business licensing nationwide.
The first major finding by the World Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency revolves around misrepresentations during the procurement process for the Scaled-Up Contract.
Investigators established that Webmasters Kenya listed two key experts in its proposals and contract documents, attaching their CVs along with signed certifications of availability.