A step that immediate former president Uhuru Kenyatta took 13 years ago has threatened his peaceful retirement after his name got dragged in the graft case involving Aror and Kimwarer dam projects.
According to Charity Mui, a witness in the case against former finance CS Henry Rotich, former Kerio Valley Development Authority(KVDA) managing director David Kimosop and 7 others Uhuru, Fred Gumo and John Michuki are the ones who authorized KVDA to proceed with the failed project.
Mui was then serving as the KVDA secretary and procurement officer.
The authorization happened in 2008-2009 when the trio were ministers in the late Mwai Kibaki’s government. Uhuru was then the deputy prime minister while Michuki and Gumo were finance minister and Regional Development Authorities minister respectively.
Mui, who appeared before Milimani Anti-Corruption Court on Tuesday, September 20, told the court that the paper concept of the project was first signed on December 1, 2008 by Gumo. It was then signed by Michuki on December 3, 2008 and Uhuru finally appended his signature on the concept on August 4, 2009, allowing KVDA to proceed with the dam construction projects.
KVDA would then proceeded with advertising to find contractors for the construction work. The move saw the Italian firm CMC di Ravenna-Itinera Joint Ventures, win the contract.
Mui gave her testimony before Chief Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi in Kshs63 billion graft case involving the accused persons. The other accused persons include; Kennedy Nyakundi(former Chief Economist), former NEMA Managing Director Geoffrey Wahungu, Kennedy Nyakundi (chief economist, Treasury), Jackson Njau Kinyanjui (director of resource mobilization, Treasury) and Titus Muriithi (the inspector-general of State corporations).
Rotich, Kimosop and 7 are accused of “conspiracy to defraud the Government of Kenya of Ksh56,360,501,604.99 for the dam projects.” They are said to have committed the crimes between December 19, 2014, and July 22, 2019.
The accused persons are said to have committed the crimes through securing international loans in what looked like government-to-government agreement “and in the process made the Kenyan government liable as a financier and borrower.”
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