Former Attorney General, Githu Muigai, on Friday recorded a damning statement accusing Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich of ignoring his advice regarding the controversial dam scandal.
The former AG confirmed to The Star that he had indeed recorded a statement with the DCI.
Githu, who was the principal legal adviser to the government, had cautioned Treasury and Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA) against signing the multi-billion deal before due diligence was conducted on CMC di Ravenna.
According to investigators, KVDA sought his legal opinion on the construction in March 2017, after which he recommended a background check on the contractor.
In September the same year, KVDA wrote back to the AG claiming they were unable to conduct the due diligence, yet the contract had already been signed.
Had the background check been done, it would have exposed the Italian firm's struggling financial status and prevented a potential loss of billions.
In a move to cushion taxpayers from loss of public funds due to suspicious contracts, Parliament in 2018 moved a bill allowing the AG the final nod on all state contracts.
"All contracts... shall, subject to the pecuniary threshold, be cleared by the Attorney-General or the county attorney, respectively, before they are signed,” stated the National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale, the bill’s sponsor.
So far, the DCI have summoned Rotich, Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri, Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa, Treasury PS Kamau Thugge, as well as KVDA MD David Kimosop.
