A scandal where taxpayers lost as much as Sh14.2 billion through fraudulent payments to landowners by the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco), may have been swept under the carpet, even though Directorate of Criminal Investigations had commenced investigations.
A source that spoke to this site confirmed that detectives that were following the matter suddenly lost interest, raising eyebrows.
The scandal happened in such a way that on paper, the money was paid to genuine landowners on whose property Ketraco put up electricity transmission lines, but detectives alleged that a huge percentage of the money was swindled by officials at the State agency led by CEO Fernandez Barasa.
Detectives say one case in Kisaju, Kajiado County, where a landowner was paid 10 times more than the value of his land, mirrored hundreds of others during the construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi transmission line.
They proposed that some of the officers be charged with failure to comply with the law.
Investigators said they were combing through land compensation documents related to the 450-kilometre, 1,500-megawatt Mombasa-Nairobi power line — the biggest such project by Ketraco — whose mandate is to build infrastructure for high-voltage electricity transmission.
At one time in August, there was drama at a five-star hotel in Nairobi last week when the CEO of a parastatal took refuge in the washrooms when DCI George Kinoti checked in.
The official was reportedly having fun with friends when Kinoti turned up. He was later squirrelled out through the kitchen back door.
Kinoti was apparently at the hotel on private business.
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