• Investigators unravelling web of convoluted financial transactions spanning long period and spread across borders and continents.
• Sh7.8 billion is said to have been paid to the Italian contractor CMC di Ravenna, while another Sh11.2 billion was paid to SACE Insurance Premium, an Italian government agency
Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji yesterday appealed for patience as investigations into corruption allegations in two dams in the Rift valley are complex.
The investigations into allegations surrounding Arror and Kimwarer multi-purpose dams in Elegeyo Marakwet county are at an advanced stage, the DPP said in a statement.
“It is acknowledged that the issues involved are complex and require delving into a web of convoluted financial transactions spanning a considerable period and spread across several borders and continents,” Haji said.
“The inquiries are also being conducted in different jurisdictions, with often conflicting rules, regulations and procedures,” he added.
Detectives are pursuing allegations that ShSh21 billion has already been paid out for the dams yet no works have started, a position which Deputy President William Ruto disputed saying the money in question is Sh7 billion.
Sh7.8 billion is said to have been paid to the Italian contractor CMC di Ravenna, while another Sh11.2 billion was paid to SACE Insurance Premium, an Italian government agency.
The DPP’s assurance comes at a time reports indicate a vicious war in Cabinet where certain CSs are using the war on corruption to fix each other at the investigating agencies.
This afternoon, President Uhuru Kenyatta will deliver the State of the Nation Address at a joint sitting of the Senate and the National Assembly. It is widely expected he could use the occasion to ask government officials who have been named in various ongoing investigations to step aside.
But as of last evening, it was not clear yet if Uhuru and Ruto had discussed and agreed on the matter.
CSs who have recorded statements about the two dams are Peter Munya (Trade and Industry), Henry Rotich (Treasury), Mwangi Kiunjuri (Angriculture), Eugene Wamalwa (Dovolution)and Adan Mohamed (East Africa Community and Regional Development ).
Haji noted the anxiety that has been caused by media leaks and said investigators are working round the clock to ensure that they present water-tight cases in court that will stand the test of time.
It is part of the DPP’s central duty to ensure that justice is done at every stage of investigation to all who may be involved. This sometimes means that the the pace of investigations may on the face of it appear slowDPP Noordin Hajji
He added: "The process is informed by the need to ensure that the evidence which is obtained is unadulterated and capable of standing up to keen scrutiny".
There are fears that this case, considering that it involves senior government officials, is likely to follow the route the probe into the Ruaraka land scandal which fizzled out.
“The DPP confirms that he has requested utmost speed in the conclusion of these inquiries so that he may have the opportunity to study the files and decide, independently and objectively, the appropriate steps to take in the information he shall have received,” the statement concluded.