Kenya National Highways Authority defends self over bribery claims

By David Odongo

KENYA: The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has come out to defend itself following claims of bribery at the Mlolongo weighbridge by The Standard on Sunday.

KeNHA corporate communications manager Charles Njogu defended the state corporation from allegations that its officials ask for bribes to allow overloaded trucks through the Mlolongo weighbridge.

“KeNHA actually outsourced the functions of the weighbridge to a private company, SGS Limited. We just play a supervisory role,” said Njogu.

He further distanced the private company contracted by KeNHA from the bribery scandal.

“All the vehicles you might have seen on the highway didn’t pass through the weighbridge. Its the function of the police to divert the vehicles to the weighbridge. If they don’t do that, there is no way SGS or KeNHA can stop the trucks and ask them to go through the weighbridge,” said Njogu.

The Standard on Sunday reporters camped at the Mlolongo weighbridge and witnessed police officers receiving bribes and letting trucks pass over the weighbridge late in the night.

“It is important to note that Mlolongo is one of the most efficient weighbridges in the country and close to three thousand vehicles go through the weighbridge every day. At KeNHA, we are doing everything to execute our mandate, and once in a while, you will get some unscrupulous traders who might try to compromise our operations, but I can authoritatively say we have had a lot of successes in the past few years” says Njogu.

An autonomous road agency, KeNHA is responsible for the management, development, rehabilitation and maintenance of international trunk roads linking centres of international importance and crossing international boundaries or terminating at international ports (Class A roads.

It also manages national trunk roads linking internationally important centres (Class B roads), and primarily roads linking provincially important centres to each other or two higher-class roads (Class C roads).

KeNHA is a parastatal set up under the Roads Act, 2007.