Overview
The Arror and Kimwarer dam projects in the Kerio Valley represent one of Kenya's largest infrastructure corruption cases. The Kenyan government signed contracts worth KES 21 billion (approximately USD 193 million) with Italian construction firm CMC di Ravenna for two hydroelectric dams. The projects were promised but the dams were never built, and the allocated funds disappeared into the pockets of government officials and their associates.
Project Background
The two dams, Arror and Kimwarer, were proposed in the mid-2000s as part of Kenya's hydroelectric expansion strategy. The Kerio Valley, shared between Elgeyo-Marakwet and West Pokot counties, offered suitable terrain for water storage. In 2012, the Kenyan government approved the projects as part of the Vision 2030 development agenda.
Contracts were signed with CMC di Ravenna, a firm that had limited track record in major dam construction but had connections to Kenyan officials. The project was classified as a public-private partnership (PPP), with government providing capital and the private firm responsible for construction and operation.
The Looting
Over KES 21 billion was transferred from the government budget to the contractor between 2013 and 2018. Site visits by journalists and independent monitors revealed minimal excavation work. Equipment brought to the site appeared cosmetic, moved for photo opportunities and then removed.
The funds were traced to offshore accounts linked to government officials, including senior cabinet members and their family networks. An investigation by Kenya's Office of the Auditor General (2018) concluded that the funds were stolen and the dams deliberately not constructed.
By 2018, when international donors and Parliament began questioning the project, the contractor claimed force majeure due to insecurity in the valley and demanded additional compensation rather than admitting non-performance.
Political Protection
The dam projects remained politically protected for years despite obvious corruption. Three factors sustained this: (1) the projects provided a mechanism to channel development funds to political supporters in the region, (2) the contractor had cultivated relationships with treasury officials and the president's office, and (3) opposition politicians lacked the institutional power to force accountability.
When the Auditor General published his report, no criminal charges were filed. Parliament held hearings but no convictions followed. The contractor was eventually removed from the project in 2019, but by then the funds were untraceable across multiple jurisdictions.
Legacy
The Arror and Kimwarer scandal became a textbook case of how development funding in Kenya is laundered through ghost projects. The Kerio Valley, intended to gain water security and electricity, remained without those resources while corruption was normalized at the highest political levels.
The case also exposed weak enforcement of PPP protocols and the absence of real-time monitoring mechanisms that could have halted fund transfers when no progress was evident.
See Also
- Corruption and Infrastructure Quality
- Auditor General Role
- County Government Corruption
- Uhuru Era Corruption
- Public Procurement Corruption
- State Capture Kenya