Embattled Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) boss Dr. Daniel Manduku is soon to be a clean man. He has bribed every facet of leadership that you guys know.
The honeymoon for the two, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss George Kinoti should be over as they have partaken in the scam of letting the robber of KPA Daniel Manduku free.
It is alledged that Mama Ngina, the President’s mother is in the mix of those who have received contracts at the port and that now puts the man in Kenya’s highest office Uhuru, in a bad position. Not that Uhuru is clean.
Mama Ngina is alleged to have told Kinoti and Haji to ‘dare touch Manduku’. The two men fearing for their jobs have instead opted not to walk away empty handed. They received some small ‘millions’ as bribes from Manduku.
Manduku has been heard telling friedns that he is capable of ‘bringing down some big names’.
‘What you see now is just to cover the eyes of the public with some sham investigations. Which the court has already granted free bond to Manduku. So Noordin and Haji will say their hands are tied by the court…and Manduku walks free’, a source told Kenyanbulletin.com
Raila and Joho
The opposition leader Raila Odinga and his ODM party Deputy and Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho are also said to be in the mix as their companies won various contracts, some in the Ksh2.7 billion scandal and are set to lose in case Manduku is prosecuted successfully.
Joho and Raila Odinga’s friend Mohammed Jaffer is also in the scandal.
According to a source at the DCI, Madnuku has on several occasions uttered the names, Raila and Joho.
Furthermore, Manduku awarded Joho’s firm Autoport Freight Terminals Limited preferential tender for cargo transportation using SGR. The handshake was truly a handcheque.
Two Mondays ago, Mombasa residents were wondering and asked “why Raila and Joho are silent’, well, this is their answer.
Apart from the 45 year-old SGR bulk cargo transportation that the Joho and Jaffer family (owners of the Grainbulk Handlers Limited – GBHL) received, Odinga’s on Raila Junior is said to have been awarded a Ksh1.2 billion conveyor belt system installation at the port.
The interference by highly placed leaders is one of the reason the KPA senior management are now silent and won’t cooperate with sleuths.
It is now a bribe-taking session as most detectives know that their game is finished.
The probe against Daniel Manduku was watertight and the guy was sure he was going to be prosecuted, but now the going – slow on the case, occasioned by the interference from the powerful forces threatens the much needed changes at the port.
It is Mama Ngina’s alleged involvement that has struck fear among government officials handling the case. It is said she threatened the DCI and DPP.
It is no wonder that Lawyer James Orengo, a close Raila ally is now representing Manduku.
Orengo who is also the Siaya County Senator successfully poked holes on the case and got Manduku out on a free bond. Unbelievable for the court to release a man who has plundered over Ksh3 billion. But this just shows how well connected Manduku is.
Maybe his time to face justice will come, but it seems not now.
Now, you can see how everything fits into place.
DCI has recommended the arrest and the prosecution of KPA-MD Manduku, GM Operations William Ruto, Senior Works Officer Anthony Muhanji, Works Officer Juma Chigulu and Principal Works Officer Bernard Nyobange, among others.
The scandal
Dr. Manduku ran the government entity like a kitchen, dishing out tenders to friends, circumventing procurement laws to bypass rules, and most notably issuing official directions through ‘sticky notes’. A very unofficial way of doing business.
The DCI probe which began in August 2017 unearthed that Dr, Manduku authorized irregular expenditures totalling to Ksh.2.73 billion.
When the news broke, Manduku dismissed the allegations and promised a local media house that he will share documents to absolve himself but at the time of going to press he had done no such thing.
In three projects including Makongeni Goodshed Yard, Manufacture of Concrete Barriers and Kisumu Port Revitalization, Mr Manduku and others are said to have breached procurement procedure.
The investigation report by the Economic and Commercial Crimes Unit of the DCI suggests that Manduku oversaw the preparation of bills of quantity (BoQs) for eight firms without requisition forms from the user — the inland container depot in Nairobi for the Makongeni Goodshed Yard project.
Manduku, KPA General Manager in charge of Operations William Rutto, Senior Works Officer Anthony Muhanji, Works Officer Juma Chigulu and Principal Works Officer Bernard Nyobange are said to have colluded to divide the 2360 square meters yard belonging to Kenya Railways into 9 zones and awarded 9 contractors the concrete works.
“The splitting is a clear conspiracy to avoid tender procedures to wit section 91 of the public procurement and asset disposal act” says the final investigation report.
Mr. Manduku was avoiding open and competitive tendering process and this cost the KPA over 500 million shillings most of which went to kickbacks.
The land which the structures were built belonged to Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) and it claimed its land back. KRC had accused KPA of grabbing its land to build the overpriced structures.
To make matters worse, investigations reveal that the companies were paid in full despite not completing the job, as Kenya Railways reclaimed its land and demolished the concrete.
Four of the nine companies that were contracted never went to the site, but instead subcontracted one of the contractors to carry out the works.
“This clearly indicates that the works could have been awarded to one contractor and done perfectly and therefore the splitting was unprocedural, to avoid open and competitive tendering process”, said the report in part.
The KPA history of buying concrete barriers shows that in the latest scandal, barriers which are supposed to cost Ksh10,281 per piece were priced at Ksh79,193 per piece. Ksh1.4 billion was lost in this concrete barrier scam.
