Central Bank suffered a major blow on Monday as its award of the currency printing tender to a British firm was nullified.
The Public Procurement Administrative Review Board cancelled the tender award to De La Rue due to wrongful application of the law.
CBK is to issue the new currency in line with the 2010 Constitution that outlaws the use of images of individuals. Kenyan currency has the portrait of founding President Jomo Kenyatta.
"A declaration be and is hereby issued that De La Rue International Ltd was unlawfully awarded the tender for printing and supply of new currency and that the application of 15 percent preference margin in its favour was unlawful and the award is therefore annulled," chairman Paul Gicheru said on Monday.
CBK was directed to undertake a fresh 14-day evaluation of all tenders submitted by the four bidders who participated in the process.
"The procuring entity shall take into account the board's observation on issues of preference together with provisions of the procurement acts," he added.
Gicheru said any party aggrieved by decisions the procuring entity makes at the end of the fresh evaluation will be at liberty to seek any remedy.
The board directed that each party bear its own costs of the review.
On December 13, the High Court temporarily suspended Central Banks' award of the new currency printing tender to the firm.
This was after activist Okiya Omtatah filed a petition for the award to be declared invalid, null and void, arguing "it is laced with open fraud and contemptuous disregard for the rule of law".
Omtatah claims the respondents deliberately contravened and violated Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015; Public Procurement And Disposal Act, 2005; Fair Administrative Action Act, 2015; Central Bank of Kenya Act and Statutory Instruments Act, 2013.
More on this: High Court suspends De La Rue's new currency printing tender
Also read: CBK in currency tender nod as High Court rejects petition
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