A fresh corruption storm is brewing inside the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) in Makueni County.
Contractors are now appealing to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and KeRRA headquarters to urgently investigate two officials accused of running a bribery cartel inside the agency.
The contractors claim the two officers have turned the tender evaluation process into a marketplace where road contracts are allegedly auctioned to the highest bidder.
The officials named are Moffat Kitheka, attached to the ICT department, and Lilian Chepkemoi, a procurement officer.
Both were this week allegedly caught on camera receiving bribes from contractors seeking to influence the award of road tenders in Makueni County.
According to contractors familiar with the process, tender evaluations for several road projects in the county are currently being conducted at NITA in Kitengela.
It is here, contractors claim, that the two officials allegedly began summoning bidders privately and demanding payments in exchange for favourable evaluation outcomes.
Sources involved in the covert operation say investigators filmed the pair meeting contractors and receiving cash payments.
The meetings allegedly took place in Kitengela.
Two contractors reportedly arrived in Toyota Prado and Toyota Premio vehicles during the filmed exchanges.
Contractors claim the payments were meant to guarantee that their bids would pass through the evaluation stage and eventually secure the road contracts.
The revelations have sparked outrage among contractors and political leaders from Makueni.
Some say the alleged scheme has been going on for years.
They claim the same officers have repeatedly interfered with tender evaluations by favouring contractors willing to pay kickbacks.
According to the contractors, the practice has allowed questionable firms to win road contracts while legitimate bidders are pushed out.
Members of Parliament from the region have also raised concern.
One MP from Makueni said the conduct of the two officials has become a serious threat to transparency in public procurement.
“These officers are causing a lot of damage and must be disciplined,” the MP said.
“We will not sit back and allow them to mess up the system.”
Contractors now want the EACC to launch an immediate investigation.
They are also demanding that KeRRA headquarters suspend the officers pending investigations.
Their concern is that if the officials remain in charge of the evaluation process, the integrity of the tendering system will remain compromised.
The unfolding scandal threatens to expose deeper procurement problems inside KeRRA’s regional offices.
It also raises serious questions about how road contracts worth millions of shillings are being awarded in counties.
For now, contractors say they are ready to provide evidence and recordings to investigators.
They insist the matter must be pursued to the end to stop what they describe as a well-entrenched corruption network inside the roads agency.
The ball is now in the court of the EACC and KeRRA headquarters.
