The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested six government officials over an alleged fraudulent tender for the construction of the Malaba Water and Sanitation Project.
EACC detectives arrested the suspects on Wednesday, February 1 over the irregular awarding of a Sh.600 million tender.
They include four officials of the Rift Valley Water Services Board (RVWSB) – Rachael Nafula Makokha (Programme Coordinator), Agnes Jerop Bowen (Programme Accountant), Eng. Patrose Sempeiyan Leshinka (Programme Engineer), and David Kigen (Procurement Assistant).
The suspects were arrested in Nakuru and Eldoret.
The other two are from the Lake Victoria North Water Service Board, namely; Isaac Kiptanui Ruto (Former Water Provision Officer), and Jared Ouma Okungu (Infrastructure Development Officer).
They were apprehended in Nandi and Kakamega counties.
The EACC said it launched investigations after receiving information that the tender was awarded to a company that allegedly neither met the qualifications nor had the capacity to execute a job of that magnitude.
“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,” a source at the commission reportedly told Citizen.
EACC 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 facing 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.
They are expected in court today, Thursday, February 2.
