Uasin Gishu County Governor Jonathan Bii (left) and Deputy Governor Evans Kapkea during grilling of the Governor by the Senate Public Accounts Committee, Chaired by Senator Moses Kajwang, at a sitting held at Uasin Gishu County Assembly, Eldoret City on May 17, 2025.
A senate watchdog wants the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to investigate how contractors were paid entire amounts for stalled multi-billion-shilling projects in Uasin Gishu County.
The Senate Public Accounts Committee has cited corruption and a lack of proper oversight for the alleged misappropriation of public funds.
Among the projects senators want probed are the abandoned Sh700 million Kipchoge 64 stadium, the Sh600 million 400-bed capacity Ziwa Level four hospital and a special needs assessment center which is projected to cost over Sh2.4 billion. Some were started during the tenure of former governor Jackson Madago, now Uasin Gishu senator.
During the tour of Ziwa Level Five Hospital, the senators were shocked to discover that the contractor had failed to complete phases one and two of the project, even after being paid the entire amount.
It also emerged that the devolved unit tendered for phase three of the hospital project, which has stalled even before completing the abandoned phases.
"During our tour of mega projects in Uasin Gishu County, we were surprised to note that all of them have been abandoned. Sadly, contractors who were awarded tenders for jobs left the sites over two years ago after they were paid their money without completing their assignments," stated committee chairman and Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang.
Mr Kajwang wants EACC to fast-track a probe into the matter for legal action to be taken against the suspects responsible for misappropriating public resources.
Speaking in Eldoret over the weekend, Mr Kajwang urged EACC to investigate the expenditure on the stalled projects.
Senate Public Accounts Committee Chairman, Moses Kajwang second, (right), the committee’s Vice Chairman Johanes Mwaruma second (left), Kitui Senator Enock Wambua (left) and Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei during the grilling of Uasin Gishu County Governor Jonathan Bii at a sitting held at Uasin Gishu County Assembly, Eldoret City on May 17, 2025.
At a meeting held at the Uasin Gishu County Assembly, the Senators put Governor Jonathan Bii to task over the abandoned projects despite allocation of money for their implementation.
The committee is concerned about what it termed as misplaced priorities of sinking billions in projects that have no value for residents.
Mr. Kajwang, who was accompanied by senators Johnes Mwaruma (Taita Taveta), Enock Wambua (Kitui), Samson Cherargei (Nandi), and Steve Lelegwe (Samburu), said the committee is perturbed by the number of stalled projects in the county.
“If residents of this county are to get value for their taxes, then EACC must conduct in-depth investigations into suspected elements of corruption in the stalled projects,” said Mr Kajwang.
The governor had a hard time vindicating his administration from blame over the mess and instead, he told the committee that he inherited the burden from his predecessor Jackson Mandago who is now the county Senator.
"I cannot lie to you that I will complete all the mega projects that I inherited from the previous administration due to financial constraints.
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He brought to the attention of the committee members that his administration has put in place plans to look for development partners to help in the financing of the stalled health projects in the county.
The Taita Taveta Senator said that it was worrying that the regional government continues to come up with new mega projects worth billions of shillings and the ones that were initiated under the former regime are yet to be completed.
"We are surprised to see several flagship projects that are stalled in various parts of the county and we wonder how the executive prioritizes its development programs," said Mr. Mwaruma.
His Nandi counterpart Samson Cherargei criticized the county government for spending taxpayer’s money on grand projects that do not add value to the residents.
Mr. Cherargei wondered why the Jonathan Bii-led administration gave preference to the beautification of the county headquarters as he called for EACC to investigate the misuse of public funds and the rest of those culpable to account for their action.
While defending his administration against the accusations Governor Bii said that he was doing his best to salvage the situation despite the financial hiccups and constraints his administration was facing since he took over office over two years ago.
“My government is doing the best it can to salvage the situation despite financial setbacks. We are trying our level best to give residents the best services through viable projects,” added Mr Bii.
