The government paid a contractor Sh700 million for wrongful termination of a tender to upgrade Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). The project, which involved constructing a second runway and terminal, was halted by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration before it began.
More than Sh70 million had already been spent on the project’s launch ceremony before the contractor sued for compensation. In May 2023, a court ruled in favor of the contractor, and the State Department for Transport confirmed the payment was settled by June 30, 2024. Separately, the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) paid Sh390 million to another contractor over disputes involving demolition works at JKIA, citing delays caused by KAA’s recommendations for an unplanned methodology.
The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) also settled Sh800 million with an Israeli contractor over a dispute related to the Kisumu-Mamboleo road project. Treasury reports reveal that avoidable court awards have surged to Sh220 billion. Taxpayers have already shouldered billions in compensation to contractors, employees, and firms that successfully sued the government due to civil service negligence.
The pending bills for court-awarded payments have more than doubled from Sh95 billion last year to Sh220 billion in 2024. In 2021, these awards stood at Sh69 billion. Among sectors, agriculture leads with Sh74 billion in unresolved court-related bills, of which only Sh595 million had been paid by mid-2024. The agriculture department owes Sh57 billion, Sh13 billion of which relates to land cases, and Sh4 billion to the livestock department.
The infrastructure sector faces over Sh30 billion in unpaid awards. Notably, Ketraco owes Sh8.9 billion to a Spanish firm for wrongful termination after the contractor declared bankruptcy. Other significant debts include Sh43 billion for the environment sector, Sh40 billion for health, Sh17 billion for justice, Sh8 billion for public administration, Sh7 billion for education, and Sh3 billion for commercial affairs.
These revelations underscore the disregard of state agencies for President William Ruto’s directive to avoid legal disputes, which he argues strain government resources and burden taxpayers with hefty legal fees.
