Kenyans still want the truth about Kimwarer

Graphical illustrations of Arror Dam.

Days after he was cleared acquitted in the Sh65 billion Kimwarer and Arror dams' case, Henry Rotich has come out to tell his side of the story.

The former Treasury Cabinet Secretary claims the charges against him "were meant to achieve extraneous political interests as opposed to the real matter of the case as presented in court".

Mr Rotich told journalists that there was a choreographed campaign to have him charged, and that leaders from both sides of the political divide used the matter during public rallies to achieve their goals.

That is shocking to say the least. He believes that games were being played by Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) "since it was fishing for evidence".

According to Rotich, not even a cent was lost in the Arror and Kimwarer dams' deal.

While acquitting the accused, the court lambasted the Office of the ODPP, which it said had bungling the case against Rotich and eight others as a result of reckless dereliction of duty.

"Such conduct is an affront to the criminal justice system and a waste of judicial precious time. It is an insult to the dignity of the court and all the stakeholders here involved in the criminal justice system. Such officers from the ODPP should be personally held liable and for any compensation damages," the magistrate said.

While it looks like a happy ending for Rotich and his co-accused, there is need to establish the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on this matter. There is need to revisit this case and investigate the ODPP, an office that has been accused in the past of initiating or bungling cases for political reasons.

Kenyans want to know whether money was lost in these dam projects and, if so, who were the beneficiaries. Kenyans want to know whether the ODPP, as Rotich, claims were used to crucify innocent people for political reasons.

Kenyans want to see those behind the theft, the framing of innocent people or the bungling of the case punished. But the question is, who will investigate the ODPP?