Members of Parliament on Thursday questioned the acting Managing Director of Kenya Airports Authority, Nicholas Bodo, over suspicious financial dealings linked to the Greenfield Terminal project at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Bodo appeared before the Public Investments Committee on Commercial Affairs and Energy to explain a controversial Ksh.75 million payment made in 2014 during the groundbreaking ceremony of the project.
Records showed that this money was paid to contractors as a variation to the contract, even though the original contract and bill of quantities did not allow for such a payment.
Bodo defended the payment by saying it was necessary because the President attended the event, which required extra preparations that had not been included in the original budget. He said they used contingency funds from the contract and that the expenditure was approved by the tender committee, citing the 2005 Public Procurement and Disposal Act as their legal backing.
However, the committee, led by Pokot South MP David Pkosing, questioned the decision to treat ceremonial costs as contract variations. They said this looked like misuse of public funds and expressed concern that this might have been a way to cover up illegal payments.
Kaloleni MP Katana Paul Kahindi demanded answers on who approved and organized the event. He strongly criticized the Ksh.75 million payment and asked why such a huge variation existed for a project that had not even started. He said the committee must take firm action against those responsible to set a good example and stop wastage of public money.
The MPs also looked at other questionable payments of more than Ksh.4.5 billion made to contractors and consultants by June 30, 2019, without any proof of completed work. This included a massive Ksh.4.31 billion advance to the main contractor ACEG/CATIC JV and Ksh.216 million to the consulting firm Louis Berger JV Runji and Partners.
There were also concerns about Ksh.7.4 million paid to PricewaterhouseCoopers after their contract for technical advisory services was terminated without any clear reason.
MP Katana continued to press for answers on how such large payments could happen before the project even started. He called for those involved to be held responsible for misusing taxpayers’ money. The committee chair, David Pkosing, insisted that there must be full accountability.
MP Duncan Mathenge warned that without taking serious action now, such issues might continue in other government projects. MP Mwangi Kiunjuri added that some of these questionable audit matters might have come from decisions made at the board level and not by junior staff.
In response, Bodo stood by his explanation that the Ksh.4.31 billion advance was in line with the contract terms and supported by a guarantee. He added that the money had either been recovered or handled through mediation after the contract was ended. However, MPs remained unconvinced and signaled the need for further investigation. The matter continues to raise serious concerns about how large public projects are managed and the lack of oversight that often leads to waste of public funds.
