DPP Noordin Haji on Friday, September 6, ordered the arrest of former TNA secretary-general Onyango Oloo and other members of the Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) management.
This is after investigations by the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission(EACC) following a complaint received on July 28, 2015, that the cost of the LBDA mall had been inflated from Ksh2.5 billion to Ksh4.1 billion.
The DPP, in a statement sent to newsrooms, stated that the investigations have unearthed amongst many irregularities, collusion between some Board members of the LBDA and Erdemann Properties Limited.
The directors of the company allegedly bribed the Kisumu County Assembly speaker and former TNA boss Onyango Oloo to the tune of Ksh17 million and other properties in a bid to inflate the cost of the project to the company's benefit.
Also implicated in the bribery allegations was George Omollo Odawa, a former chairman of the Finance and Establishment Committee of the LBDA who is said to have received Ksh12 Million.
The LBDA management reportedly advertised for the construction of the mall, and even after learning that the three firms that applied were not in a position to carry through with the contract, they awarded one of them the tenders in 2013.
Peter Abok and Onyango Oloo have also been accused of executing 3 charges over LBDA land title deed without approval in 2014 and 2015, thereby exposing LBDA property to the risk of the sale in the case of default in payment of the loan.
Also accused is Quantech Consultancy Limited, which has been implicated over issuing a final account of Ksh 4.1 billion which was an inflated amount way above the originally agreed term.
The board is further alleged to have also approved unprocedural borrowing of Ksh 1.3 billion from Cooperative Bank by the contractor leading to the variation of the contract figure from Ksh 2.4 billion to Ksh 3.8 billion.
The investigation by the EACC has also established that the construction of the property was carried out without involving the Ministry of Public Works at any one point.
Also to be charged alongside Onyango Oloo is Peter Abok, who is the former managing director of LBDA and 33 other suspects.
Also recommended to be charged are Zhang Jing, who is the director of Erdemann Property Limited, John Zeyun Yang, the managing director and the entire board of Erdemann Company.
The DPP has preferred 11 charges against the suspects, including conspiracy to defraud, abuse of office, unlawful issuance of security contract, corruption, and economic crimes, and unlawful acquisition of public property.
