Uhuru has been misled – Murkomen

Majority Leader in the Senate, Kipchumba Murkomen, claims that President Uhuru Kenyatta was misled by a technical committee on the Kimwarer dam project.

Murkomen claims that following the technical committee’s advice, President Kenyatta on Wednesday, September 18, cancelled the construction of the Ksh22.2 billion dam.

President Kenyatta Wednesday afternoon ordered the immediate cancellation of the Kimwarer dam project.

In a statement released by State House Spokesperson, Kanze Dena, the project was cancelled following recommendations from the technical committee report on the Kimwarer and Arror Dam projects.

The technical committee was chaired by Principal Secretary for Infrastructure Prof Paul Maringa. Other members were quantity surveyor Julius Matu, engineers Benjamin Mwangi and John Muiruri.

The committee found that the Kimwarer Dam project was overpriced, and that it was not viable technically and financially.

“The committee established that no current reliable feasibility study had been conducted on the dam project,” the State House statement said.

But President Kenyatta authorised the immediate commencement of the implementation of the Arror Multipurpose Dam project with new design components and cost rationalization plan as developed by the technical committee.

And, now, Murkomen claims the technical committee misled the Head of State over the Kimwarer dam cancellation.

In a Facebook statement posted on his official account, Murkomen said: “The report of cancellation of Kimwarer Dam and restructuring of Arror dam does come to me as a surprise.”

“As I have always said, the plan all along was to kill the projects. The composition of the technical committee does not reflect ethnic and regional balance. It is a shame that Maringa, Matu, Mwangi and Muiruri, who have no knowledge or attachment to the region, have misled the President.

“The technical committee did not consult anyone neither did they carry out any public participation.

“The people of Elgeyo Marakwet County (EMC) have been denied their rightful share of national projects in a deliberate act of discrimination.

“They would rather default and pay the contractors billions of money for breach of contract than to see our people benefit from the two projects. What a shame!

“I urge the president to constitute a transparent team that is national in character to look at all projects in Kenya, and that which will not ethnically profile some regions for discrimination.

“We are consulting as the people of Elgeyo Marakwet County and we shall do everything in our abilities to ensure that justice is not only done but seen to be done to our people,” said Murkomen.