DPP asks police to probe MP over Sh3.5m dam project
Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Planning and Trade chairman Benjamin Langat speaks during a consultative forum at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi on October 15, 2013. He has denied claims of graft. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Documents show that the National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporation on May 29, 2013, approved Sh3,539,932, which was the final payment for the construction of Siwot Earth Dam.
The Director of Public Prosecutions has asked the police to investigate claims that Ainamoi MP Benjamin Langat received Sh3.5 million for a dam that was never constructed.
This comes after activist Okiya Omtatah and residents of Longisa Sub-County in Bomet County wrote to the DPP, complaining that despite the loss of taxpayers’ millions of shillings, no action had been taken against the lawmaker and his brother Richard Langat.
The two are directors of a company known as Green Bay Ventures, previously known as Cagla Enterprises Ltd.
“We received a memorandum about the allegations and it’s being worked on,” said Ms Beatrice Omari, senior assistant director of public communication at the office of the DPP.
Documents show that the National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporation on May 29, 2013, approved Sh3,539,932, which was the final payment for the construction of Siwot Earth Dam.
“Despite the existence of a handing over project form signed by the National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporation on November 13, 2012, and by the Lake Victoria South Water Services Board on December 13, 2012, the dam does not actually exist on the ground, as it was never constructed in the first place,” Mr Omtatah wrote to the DPP in his request for investigation.
But in a media statement on Friday, the lawmaker says the dam exists, adding that those claiming otherwise are peddling lies.
“The dam was constructed. Anybody telling you anything else is lying. Go and see it for yourself,” he said.
