Former Uhuru point man on the spot for signing Sh4b illegal contract

Former TNA chairman Onyango Oloo. (Photo: Jenipher Wachie/Standard)

The former Secretary General of The National Alliance (TNA), Onyango Oloo, illegally signed a contract that could cost the taxpayer Sh4.2 billion.

The National Assembly's Public Investments Committee (PIC) was shocked to learn that Mr Oloo (pictured) signed the contract for the construction of the Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) mall in Kisumu County, yet he was not an authorised signatory under the State Corporations Act.

Although the original bid price for the mall was Sh2.45 billion, Mr Oloo's signature varied the price to Sh3.86 billion, according to documents tabled before the committee.

Consequently, the public debt from the mall rose to Sh 4.2 billion due to accumulated interest on the project.

The committee sought to know why Oloo was allowed to append his signature to the deed of variation of the project when he did not wield such powers.

"It is inconceivable that a non-executive chairman was allowed to execute a contract for the construction of the mall. It looks like he was one of the politically correct super chairmen who wielded immense power, which they didn't have legally," said PIC chairman Adan Keynan.

Also on the spot for appending his signature to the February 17, 2015, variation was LBDA Chief Executive Engineer Kabok Aguko.

The variation is now the subject of rising interest on a bank loan taken for the project, with the committee threatening to halt the disbursement of Sh 1.5 billion due to the authority to service the loan in the 2017-2018 financial year.

Oloo served as the secretary general of President Uhuru Kenyatta's 2013 election vehicle, TNA, before defecting to the Opposition last January.

"Mr Oloo had no legal authority to sign a contract," said Kisumu MP Olago Aluoch.