Kakamega County Governor Fernandez Barasa and his Finance Executive, Benjamin Andama, are facing serious questions after documents surfaced linking them to a Sh82 million money heist in payments for supplies that were never delivered.
The documents, seen by the writer show that the Finance Executive floated ten tenders in May 2026, all reportedly awarded to companies said to be fronts for people close to the two officials.
The payments were made through the Kakamega County Emergency Fund, with the total figure standing at Sh82,116,453.42. Investigators are now being asked to establish whether any actual goods or services changed hands.
Among the tenders flagged is a Sh18.6 million contract for the supply of Quadrivalent FMD vaccines, awarded to Mashambani Farm Input Eldoret Ltd. Another firm, Fean Feast Limited, is said to have landed two separate deals — Sh4.2 million for pre- and post-vaccination surveillance equipment, and Sh6.07 million for a public awareness campaign.
The single largest payment, Sh38.3 million, reportedly went to Dej Ev Group Ltd for flood mitigation and drainage works. A further Sh14.9 million was allegedly paid to Belish Ltd for livestock vaccination and farm bio-security supplies.
Questions are already being raised over why an emergency fund — typically reserved for urgent, unforeseen needs such as disasters and disease outbreaks — was used to bankroll tenders that critics say show no evidence of actual delivery.
Cronies and family ties, activist claims
According to activist Wilson Shimoli, who leaked the documents, the companies behind these tenders are not independent contractors but proxies linked to associates and relatives of the county’s leadership.
He says he has already forwarded the paperwork to investigative agencies, calling for a full probe into how the emergency funds were disbursed and whether the listed goods and services ever existed.
Governor Barasa has been flagged severally for fraudulent payments with his CECM Andama also facing allegations of diverting county funds through dubious payments as he targets to raise funds for his campaigns for the Khwisero Parliamentary seat.
As the documents make their way to investigators, residents of Kakamega will be watching closely to see whether this becomes another case that fades quietly — or one that finally forces accountability over the use of public emergency funds.
