This archive report was first published on 23 July 2019.
On July 22, 2019, a surprise arrest shook Kenya's government: Finance Minister Henry Rotich was taken into custody on charges of fraud and corruption.
The charges stem from a police investigation into financial misconduct in the construction of two dams in western Kenya, overseen by Italian firm CMC di Ravenna.
Rotich was charged alongside 27 others, including a senior finance ministry official and the Italian director of CMC di Ravenna, Paolo Porcelli.
According to Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji, Kenyan officials are suspected of making fraudulent payments to the Italian firm and ignoring legal procedures to award the contracts.
"This kind of crime and irresponsibility enslaves us with unnecessary debt and mortgages our future generations," Haji said during a press conference.
The two dams were budgeted to cost 46 billion shillings ($446 million, €396 million), but the treasury borrowed 63 billion shillings instead, Haji revealed.
The allegedly fraudulent deals further ballooned Kenya's massive public debt, which currently stands at around 55% of GDP.
"They broke the law on public finance management under the guise of carrying out legitimate commercial transactions, colossal amounts were unjustifiably and illegally paid out through a well-choreographed scheme by government officers in collusion with private individuals and institutions," Haji said.
