The National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education has called for investigations into the management of the University of Eldoret over alleged financial mismanagement in a Sh373 million amphitheatre project.
Led by Chairperson and Bumula MP Wanami Wamboka, the committee inspected the stalled project on Tuesday and raised concerns over irregular payments and violations of procurement laws. The project, which began in June 2019 and was expected to be completed by December 2020, remains incomplete.
During the visit, MPs said the institution had suffered major losses after the main contractor abandoned the site, prompting the university to directly engage sub-contractors. Embakasi West MP Mark Mwenje criticized the move, saying the decision was chaotic and costly.
“This project was completely mismanaged by allowing a contract termination and then onboarding sub-contractors. This has cost a lot of money, and the whole process is chaotic,” Mwenje said.
University Vice Chancellor Prof. Thomas Kimeli Cheruiyot defended the decision, arguing that the collapse of the main contract due to funding challenges forced the university to hire sub-contractors. However, the committee said the move was illegal and in breach of procurement laws.
“You are confirming that you paid sub-contractors despite having a running contract with the main contractor who abandoned the site, making it illegal,” Wamboka told the university officials. “Since sub-contractors exist on the basis of the main contractor, direct payments to them are an illegality.”
The lawmakers now want the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to take over the matter. They accused the Project Manager from the Ministry of Public Works of mismanaging the project and misleading the university.
“The Project Manager has heavily mismanaged the project and continually misadvised the institution, thereby exposing it to losses,” said Sotik MP Francis Sigei.
Wamboka said the matter will be tabled in Parliament, with recommendations that the Project Manager be investigated and barred from holding public office until cleared.
“There was a breach of the Public Procurement Act and Article 201 (d) of the Constitution. Money has been spent and lost. We will be making a proposal to the House for EACC and DCI to quickly investigate the institution and the prudence of the use of public funds,” he said.
The MPs concluded that procedures were ignored, payments were made without proper contracts, and the project had exposed both the university and government to financial losses.
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