KAA MD sent on leave over tender scam

By Standard Reporter

The Kenya Airports Authority Board has sent its Managing Director Stephen Gichuki on compulsory leave over JKIA expansion tender saga.

Confirming the action, the board’s chair Martin Wambora said this was done to allow investigations. The position will in the mean time be held by the deputy managing director Mathew Wamalwa.

Mr Wambora said the board was compelled to send Gichuki home after he refused to cooperate in an effort to find the truth about the saga.

KAA has grabbed the media attention in the past few days after Transport minister Amos Kimunya halted the Sh56 billion project after suspecting corrupt dealings in awarding of a tender.

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The board has however backed the minister’s step to revoke the tender given to a Chinese firm, saying that Kenyans could have lost money.

On Thursday, Gichuki told three parliamentary committees that the Greenfield Project has not been cancelled. He however said they were under pressure from the Ministry of Transport to do so. “I am finding it very difficult to cancel a tender that has already been awarded,” he explained.

He noted that two letters from the Attorney General Githu Muigai and KAA external lawyers warned him against cancelling the tender.