Anxiety has gripped State officials in the country after a US congressman in President Donald Trump’s administration stated that he wanted a pending deal in which Kenya had purchased weapons for KDF soldiers worth $418 (over Sh43 billion) stopped.
Congressman Ted Budd has now urged his colleagues to block and investigate the deal stating that he had reliable information of fraud in the contract awarded.
“My office has received credible allegations of faulty contracting practices, fraud and unfair treatment surrounding this sale,” Mr Budd affirmed.
Kenya had agreed to pay the full amount last month to a company which was awarded the contract, L-3 Communications to produce 12 aircrafts (Air Tractor AT-802L aircrafts) among other weapons intended to bolster KDF’s campaign against Al-Shabaab.
In his argument, the North Carolina Republican stated that the contract was awarded without competitive bidding to the company, which, according to him “had no experience or track record producing this kind of aircraft.”
“We need to ensure that Kenya, a long-time ally, is getting a fair deal, and that veteran-owned small businesses in our state aren’t getting shut out of competition because of government favouritism towards giant contractors,” the congressman declared.
Mr Tedd did not disclose much about the fraud involved in the deal which has already been cleared by the US Department of State.
