A Governance activist wants investigative agencies to probe Kenya Rural Roads Authority Director General Jackson Magondu over claims of suspected mulitmillion tender deals in the state department.
The actvist Paul Nabiya has written to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commision( EACC) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations ( DCI ) and the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) to initiate a multi-agency probe on the DG and other officials both at the agency and the Minitry of Transport over what he terms as well coordinated schemes to divert and siphon puboic funds.
He is specifically calling on the Asset Recovery Agency to scrutinize all properties acquired by the MD in the past two ans half years.
The DG is alleged to have made millions in kickbacks done by predertermined contractors even as MPs lament overdelayed road projects, unresolved audit queries and alleged weaknesses in procurement oversight tied to billions from the Roads Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF).
Under Magondu, KeRRA has failed to submit completion certificates for all ongoing and completed projects as concerns emerged that some projects were being implemented without valid contract extensions.
At the center of the scrutiny are multiple rural road projects that have either stalled, exceeded completion timelines or reportedly undergone repeated cost variations.
Lawmakers have expressed concern that delayed implementation exposes taxpayers to financial losses through additional supervision costs, contractor claims and inflated project expenses.
Some MPs reportedly questioned whether KeRRA’s internal monitoring systems were functioning effectively, especially in projects funded through the Roads Maintenance Levy Fund, which collects billions annually from fuel levies paid by Kenyans.
The authority has also failed to provide documentation to confirm whether contractors are properly supervised and whether completed works meet required engineering standards before payments are processed.
Previous parliamentary grilling sessions have intensified public debate around procurement practices at KeRRA, with stakeholders calling for deeper investigations into how contracts are awarded and managed.
Governance experts argue that delayed projects often create loopholes for questionable contract variations, extension requests and inflated operational costs.
While no court has found Magondu guilty of wrongdoing, pressure is growing on anti-corruption agencies and oversight institutions to review procurement processes linked to stalled rural road projects across several counties.
Transparency advocates say road agencies handling public infrastructure funds must operate under stricter disclosure requirements, including publishing contractor details, project timelines and completion reports for public scrutiny.
Rising Public Frustration.
The developments come at a time when many Kenyans continue to complain about poor road conditions in rural areas despite massive annual allocations to road maintenance agencies.
In several counties, residents have raised concerns over abandoned road works, impassable access roads and contractors allegedly disappearing from sites before completion.
Critics now say Parliament’s intervention could expose deeper structural problems in how infrastructure agencies manage public funds and supervise
With billions of shillings allocated annually to rural road development, pressure is now mounting on KeRRA to demonstrate transparency, accountability and value for money in all projects financed through public funds.
