EACC exposes bribery in Sh4.2 billion mall

Kurzweil · 2019-07-13T08:13:03+00:00

Detectives have uncovered what they claim is irrefutable evidence of bribery in construction of the Sh4.2 billion Lake Basin Development Authority Mall, which is threatening to bring down big names. The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission claims a Chinese contractor, Erdemann Property, dished out bribes to top officials of the LBDA to build the controversial mall whose cost is said to be grossly exaggerated. It's also almost empty, lacking key anchor tenants and others two years after completion. Among the inducements allegedly doled out by the contractor were apartment houses in Athi River and Nairobi’s High Rise Estate. “The Intelligence received with regard to the aforesaid project indicated that certain specified key persons involved in the project received financial and other inducements to facilitate the documented irregularities in favour of the main contractor,” state EACC documents filed in court, and exclusively obtained by the Star. Pioneered by Chinese investor Zeyun Yang, Erdemann has built more than 4,600 units in Kenya and has partnered with the government in the delivery of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four agenda. Affordable housing is one of the Big Four. Currently, the firm is constructing apartments in Ngara, Nairobi, financed jointly by the national and county governments, part of the Big Four. The EACC says when they carried out simultaneous raids on four homes of ex-LBDA Chairman Onyango Oloo, they recovered documents showing he had a property from the Chinese firm. “This is a clear demonstration of conflict of interest and bears witness to the reasonable suspicion as envisaged under Section 118 of the Criminal Procedure Code of involvement in corrupt activities,” the EACC said. EACC sources did not disclose exact houses that were given to the LBDA officials. However, Edermann constructed the Great Wall Gardens in Athi River with 2,173 units. Some of the three-bedroom units, with en suite master bedroom, go for as much as Sh8 million. The contractor describes them as having top-notch finishing. The firm also built the controversial Seefar Apartments in High Rise, Nairobi, which the National Environmental Authority is fighting to bring down. It says the construction is on riparian land. Oloo, a former secretary general of the defunct TNA party and now Kisumu Assembly Speaker, has moved to court seeking block his prosecution and other actions. Bobasi MP Innocent Momanyi Obiri, whose firm Quantech Consultancy was procured as the project’s quantity surveyor, has also gone to court to block further raids on his home and business premises. The EACC had raided the homes of top LBDA officials and those associated with the mall, including Oloo and Obiri, on June 4 last month. The Star exclusively reported on Wednesday that the EACC has concluded the probe and sent the file to DPP Noordin Haji, setting the stage for high profile arrests.

Thread starter Kurzweil
Start date Jul 13, 2019

Kurzweil

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EACC exposes bribery in Sh4.2 billion mall

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