Governor Dr. Alfred Mutua on an interview with JKLive host Jeff Koinange called out Senator Kipchumba Murkomen for lying to Kenyans in relation to the construction of the Thwake Dam in Makueni County.
The Elgeyo Marakwet Senator had taken to Twitter asking the DCI to launch an investigation on the Thwake dam alleging that despite payment of Ksh7.8 billion in advance, nothing is yet to happen 3 years down the line.
“If you go to Thwake dam site today you will find massive works going on, I think Murkomen is being misled and should retract his tweet,” Mutua responded when asked about the issue.
Accompanying his tweet, Murkomen had attached a photo of a thicket claiming that it was the site for Thwake dam and construction is yet to start despite payments having been done three years earlier.
Murkomen cried discrimination over the investigations of the Arror and Kimwarer dam projects under the management of Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA).
The Image used by Murkomen was for the stalled Umaa dam in Kitui rather than the Thwake dam that he was referring to.
Mutua defended the project despite a parliamentary committee expressing dissatisfaction at the construction pace.
Members of the Committee on Environment, Water and Natural Resources on Tuesday, April 3 visited the site on a fact-finding mission.
The team reported that a year since the contractor got the contract letter, there is little to show on the ground.
"From what we have seen, we fear the contractor will not complete the assignment within the set time frame," chairman Kareke Mbiuki stated.
According to the Ministry of Irrigation, approximately 13-15 percent of the work has been done.
The committee chairman reported that they are aware of the challenges such as delayed compensation, but the contractor should try and recover the lost time.
