How SGR contract still haunts and weighs down our economy

Nairobi Expressway SGR toll station in Nairobi on June 28, 2022. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Next weekend the world will celebrate Anti-Corruption Day and International Human Rights Day, special occasions to reflect on gains and losses and to honour those who continue to inspire us by their courage and integrity.

One man deserving recognition but unlikely to be honoured is someone you may never have heard of. Bernard Muchere is a retired fraud and risk management consultant, who now devotes his energy and experience to unearth the scandal of the SGR that continues to haunt and impoverish the nation.

The quiet and unassuming gentleman has his own version of 'mambo matatu' to explain the SGR saga. He insists it was never a public contract, never a public project and as such should never be a debt to be repaid by Kenyan taxpayers. On the contrary, the project was not designed or intended to ever benefit Kenyans but to amass wealth for less than ten individuals. It meets none of the criteria required to classify it as a public contract and project, so why should the public be burdened to pay for the cost and debt!