A witness in the Sh63 billion Arror and Kimwarer multi-purpose dams graft case on Wednesday recanted his testimony, admitting before a magistrate that there were lapses on the side of the tender evaluation committee.
Isaac Mbugua had on Tuesday testified that the contract for Kimwarer multi-purpose dam project was awarded to a company that did not win the tender.
Mbugua said it was awarded to Italian firm CMC Di Ravenna Limited in disregard of recommendation by the tender evaluation committee that had approved the award of tender to Sinohydro.
He also said the firm had initially not indicated that it would take a joint venture if it won the tender Sinohydro Corporation Limited because it had the best bid and scored the highest.
Mbugua, who was among the seven-member tender evaluation committee, also said that they recommended the contract for Arror to be awarded to CMC Di Ravenna Limited but the company used a different name when it signed the contract with Kerio Valley Development Authority.
“The bid was submitted by CMC Di Ravenna Limited and they got the award but when the contract was signed, the name of the company changed to CMC Di Ravenna Itinera Joint Venture of South Africa,” Mbugua said on Tuesday.
But during cross-examination on Wednesday, Mbugua recanted his evidence saying his committee was not the final and that it was possible that the tender was eventually awarded to CMC Di Ravenna.
He said CMC Di Ravenna had indicated prior to being awarded the Arror dam tender, that it would undertake a joint venture contrary to his earlier testimony.
Defence lawyers who poked holes in Mbugua's testimony put it to him that his tender evaluation committee failed to do its work as required and did not even read all the tender bid documents.
"I wouldn't call it failure but that was a lapse on our part as the tender evaluation committee. For now, I realise that the venture was joint and I recant the contents of that paragraph," Mbugua said.
He was testifying in the case in which former Treasury CS Henry Rotich and former KVDA managing director David Kimosop are charged alongside eight others with conspiracy to defraud Sh63 billion for construction of the Kimwarer and Arror multi-purpose dams in Elgeyo Marakwet county.
The other accused persons are former chief economist Kennedy Nyakundi, former Nema managing director Geoffrey Wahungu and KVDA officials Jackson Kinyanjui, William Kipkemboi, Paul Kipkoech, Francis Chepkonga and Titus Muriithi.
The hearing continues on Thursday.
