The Directorate of Criminal Investigations DCI) will this week interrogate former Treasury CS Henry Rotich and former PS Dr Kamau Thugge over the stalled Sh38 billion Itare dam project.
The two former government officials are facing corruption and abuse of office related charges over the Kimwarer and Arror dams scandal.
The two are expected to explain to the probe team who authorised an advance payment of Sh4.3 billion to a defunct Italian contractor CMC Di Ravenna in relation to the Itare project.
“We are about to conclude investigations into this issue. We want to speak to the two since they were in charge when some decisions were made,” a senior DCI dective said.
The detectives also want establish why the payment was made despite knowledge that the Italian company had applied for bankruptcy.
CMC Di Ravenna has refused to refund the funds claiming that they were indemnified by a clause in the contract signed with Rift Valley Water Services Board, which was the agency overseeing the project.
“The employer shall indemnify and hold the contractor harmless against and from all damages, losses and expenses, including legal fees and expenses resulting from a claim under the performance security to the extent to which the employer was not entitled to make the claim,” states clause 4.2 of the contract.
Rotich and Thugge will reveal the terms of a 2015 loan agreement between the National Treasury and BNP Paribas Fortis and Intesa Sanpaolo of Italy.
Part of the advance payment was made through Heritage Insurance, which acted as a guarantor in the transaction.
The two will also explain whether the loan guaranteed was secured and if the government can recoup the advance payment made to CMC Di Ravenna.
The detectives have netted over 20 people since the investigations began last year. Former Water CS and now Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa , Labour CS Simon Chelugui and Lydia Ntimama, who was a board member of Rift Valley Water Works Development Agency.
The 57m-high Itare dam would serve approximately 800,000 residents of Molo, Kuresoi, Njoro, Nakuru town and Rongai with 100,000m3 of water daily.
The project that was scheduled to be compleeted by april 2021 stalled after CMC Di Ravenna applied for bankruptcy in an Italian court in 2018.
The Italian contractor bangled the project after completing 30% of the entire project and pushing RVWWDA to source for a new contractor to complete the project — a process that could take an another 18 months.
Rotich and Thugge were released on a Sh15 million bail by Milimani law courts over abuse of office charges in July last year.
They were among 28 people who were arrested and prosecuted for misappropriation of almost Sh63 billion meant for the construction of Arror and Kimwarer dams in Elgeyo Marakwet county.
