EACC arrests six Gov't officials over Ksh.600M Malaba water tender

Detectives from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on Wednesday arrested six government officials over an alleged fraudulent Ksh.600 million tender for the construction of the Malaba Water and Sanitation Project.

The six include four officials of the Rift Valley Water Services Board (RVWSB) who were arrested in Nakuru and Eldoret, namely; Rachael Nafula Makokha (Programme Coordinator), Agnes Jerop Bowen (Programme Accountant), Eng. Patrose Sempeiyan Leshinka (Programme Engineer), and David Kigen (Procurement Assistant).

The other two are from the Lake Victoria North Water Service Board who were nabbed in Nandi and Kakamega counties, namely; Isaac Kiptanui Ruto (Former Water Provision Officer), and Jared Ouma Okungu (Infrastructure Development Officer).

EACC began its probe after receiving information that the tender worth the said amount had reportedly been awarded to Mactebac Contractors Limited, which allegedly neither met the qualifications nor had the capacity to execute a job of that magnitude.

A source at the commission told Citizen Digital that the probe revealed that Mactebac Contractors Limited Director Joram Opala Otieno submitted forged documents in order to win the tender.

“The Technical Evaluation Committee members failed to perform due diligence and therefore failed to confirm and verify the qualifications of Mactebac Contractors who had submitted the lowest evaluated responsive tender,” the source said.

The commission then presented its findings to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), which  recommended that the suspects be arrested and charged.

The six are presently being held at EACC’s Bungoma Regional Office pending arraignment on Thursday.

They face various charges among them; wilful failure to comply with the law and regulations relating to procurement, neglect of official duty by a public officer, and fraudulent practice in procurement.

The commission is presently also trailing Mactebac Contractors Limited Director Joram Opala Otieno, who has since been urged to surrender to the Bungoma office.