EACC investigates Tuju, Thugge, Githu over sh4.9b Lake Basin Mall – Weekly Citizen

Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju and his finance counterpart Henry Rotich are among top officials being investigated by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission over sh. 4.9 billion Lake Basin Development Authority Mall in Kisumu.

Githu

Others who have also recorded statement with the anti-graft body are the Principal Secretary at the National Treasury Dr. Kamau Thugge, former Attorney General Githu Mungai, Infrastructure PS Esther Koimet and solicitor General Njee Muturi.

The top officials among others Kisumu County Assembly Speaker Onyango Oloo and LBDA managing Director Evans Atera are the prominent faces behind a scandal in which a whopping sh.3.1 billion was inflated for the construction of the high-end mall was original was sh.1.8 billion.

Earlier the National Assembly’s Public Investment Committee (PIC) while exploring on the matter heard that a non-executive chairman personally signed the revised contract that escalated the cost of the project contrary to the provisions of the State Corporations Act.

The Act only allows the Chief Executive Officers and executive Chairman of State Corporation to execute such contracts.

Onyango Oloo

Records shows that Oloo during his reign as the LBDA irregularly executed the construction of the mall by appending his signature to a deed of variation of form agreement on February 17, 2015 alongside LBDA Chief Engineer Kabok Aguko.

Kisumu Town West Member of Parliament Olago Aluoch was among the local leaders to question the deal and the legislature with a strong background in law noting it was illegal for the contract to be signed by a non-executive chairman.

“Mr Oloo had no legal authority to sign a contract. It was illegal going by the Law of Contract’’ Olago noted.