We’re held hostage by pirates of graft, says Mudavadi

Amani National Congress party leader Musalia Mudavadi during the closing ceremony of the first ever national inter-professionals.

Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi yesterday continued to criticise Deputy President William Ruto over the war on corruption.

The former Vice President scolded senior Jubilee Party leaders for allegedly defending or shielding “pirates and sundry masters” of corruption that have taken the country hostage.

“Someone whose name nobody has mentioned is the first person to say, ‘I am not a thief.’ He says, ‘The amount you are saying has been stolen is not right,’” said Mudavadi.

Some political leaders led by Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen have alleged that the war on corruption was a wider scheme to derail the DP’s presidential ambition.

Yesterday, Mudavadi said the Jubilee administration has in the past six year spent Sh165 billion on the construction of dams, which he said are riddled in corruption.

Mudavadi said reports of corruption were worrying international development partners who were seriously contemplating scaling down vital support on water and health sectors.

Addressing an Inter-professional Summit at Pride Inn Paradise Beach Resort and Spur in Mombasa, Mudavadi called on participants to rise up against the merchants of graft.

He said Kenyans should not be deceived by political leaders claiming there was not corruption in the construction of virtually all dams across the country.

In its manifesto, the Jubilee party promised to build 57 dams but the projects have suffered an assortment of setbacks like lack of geological surveys and designs.

For instance, Mudavadi cited Badasa Dam in Marsabit, which he claimed was allocated Sh1.9 billion but its designs were found to be faulty and later its cost increased by Sh1.6 billion.

He said feasibility studies for the dam project were never done and there was no geological survey for the project.

“When the excavation process started, heavy earth-moving equipment started sinking in the ground, rather than excavating. The project was abandoned after billions had been sunk,” he said, adding that it has been proposed for revival with astronomical variation in the costs. The ANC party leader said in Kajiado County, Kiserian Dam is located at the downstream of a sprawling slum and a survey was never carried out. Another project is Chemususu Dam in Baringo, which he claimed has also suffered a major increase in pricing by up to Sh1.6 billion. In Kitui, he said Umaa Dam stalled after Sh575 million had been paid and that this year there were plans to revive it at an exorbitant price after a variation of Sh1.9 billion.