This archive report was first published on 15 August 2019.
On August 15, 2019, a report was tabled in parliament exposing a massive scandal involving the construction of the Kenya-Somalia border wall in Mandera.
The government had paid 3.3 billion shillings to build a mere 10km stretch of the wall, with each kilometer costing a staggering 300 million shillings.
Lawmakers were shocked by the level of corruption and wanton plunder in the project, which was meant to control the number of aliens crossing into the country from Somalia, some of whom may be Alshabaab sympathizers.
The National Security Advisory Committee (NSAC) had initiated the project in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, but it was later handed over to the Department of Defence after the Interior Ministry had constructed only 10km at an inflated cost.
The report revealed that the government had funded the project in three financial years, between 2015 and 2018, with payments made in the 2014/2015, 2015/2016, and 2016/2017 financial years.
However, a discrepancy arose in the figures, with the total amount of money disbursed to the Border Wall Project since 2015 standing at 1.7 billion shillings, but the additional expenses unallocated by the state shooting this figure up to 3.3 billion shillings.
The latest scandal has put the war against corruption to the test, with the country eager to see if any heads will roll and high-ranking officials charged and jailed for embezzlement of public funds.
