Details of Makupa Drainage Victims Unmasked how County Officers bagged Millions through Private Firm

It has now emerged that the three people who died while unclogging a manhole at the Makupa roundabout in Mombasa were casuals attached to a private firm contracted by the county government to unclog drainage systems.

Authorities are already investigating the circumstances under which the three who have no experience in unclogging of manholes were allowed to conduct the exercise.

The authorities are also investigating the private firm and how it got the contract to conduct unclogging of drainage when the county has a relevant department and qualified personnel with the capacity to unclog a manhole.

The sad incident saw four others escape with injuries after they succeeded in moving out of the drainage system, leaving the three men stuck inside the main Makupa drainage systems.

Exhauster trucks that were brought on site to  pump storm water out of the tunnel did not help retrieve the bodies.

Engineering experts have opined that the county through its engineers must have done proper due diligence and taken note of all the dangerous zones and adequately advice those doing the exercise.

According to Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir who will also be investigated over the incident, the three drowned while trying to clear the debris from the smaller drainage but were overwhelmed by the surging waters.

The four who were rescued were rushed to hospital where they were treated and were cleared to be out of danger.

Sadly, the tunnel goes  all the way up to the Indian Ocean which means that retrieving the bodies will be difficult.

While Abdulswamad is laying blame on the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) over what he says is an engineering blunder, the county engineers are also being blamed for negligence given the fact that they have all relevant information on the history of the county’s drainage system.

The Governor claimed that county engineers looked at what was the cause of the problem and they found out that when KeNHA was doing the road, they basically built a drainage system on top of another existing drainage system.

Investigative agencies are set to grill the Chief Officer for Transport and Infrastructure Albert Keno who played a role in subcontracting a private from to do unclogging of drainage systems.

Also on the spot is County executive committee member for transport and infrastructure Dan Manyala, his chief officer Albert Keino, Director Roads Peter Migosi who is believed to have also pocketed millions of proceeds from the tender.

According to documents in our possession indicates that the county did not follow procedures as required by procurement act and only money exchanged hands.

County Secretary Jeizan Faruk is also said to be in the mix.

Interestingly, Governor Abdulswamad had last week claimed that the county has no funds to mitigate on the El nino effects.

He was on the recieving end of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua who toured the county to donate food to victims of the ravaging floods emanating from the El Nino effects.