On Tuesday, the DCI revealed that some of the directors told investigators that they had been asked to deliver material — unrelated to the construction of a dam — to a yard in Eldoret and in Nairobi.
“One of the companies told us they delivered towels worth Sh20 million, while another delivered tiles and carpets. We are asking them how this is related to the construction of a dam and they are not able to answer,” said Mr Kinoti.
“What we do not understand yet is how people supplied materials for a project that had not even started. We also do not understand how money was disbursed yet there was no proper documentation,” said Mr John Kariuki, director of the Investigations Bureau.
So brazen is the scandal that money was paid to a contractor, CMC di Ravenna, who has never been on the site, and for a project that has not been designed.
How a bill of quantities was arrived at without the design has baffled investigators, who are trying to unwrap a puzzle that may bring down several Cabinet ministers.
While the Treasury had released money to compensate locals who would be displaced by the dam, Kenya Forest Service officials have told the DCI that they were never asked to degazette part of the forest at the construction site.
“That means there was never an intention to build the dam,” said Mr Kinoti.
Already, the creditor banks that loaned the country Sh65 billion to build the two dams have written to the Treasury seeking settlement of their demand notes.
It now means Kenya will start paying loans for a project that exists only on paper, or risk the auctioning of its assets abroad by the banks.