The Nyakundi report has dropped a bombshell, exposing a massive scandal at the Water Sector Trust Fund (WaterFund), a Kenyan state corporation that’s supposed to help bring water and sanitation to the country’s forgotten corners.
Instead, it’s drowning in corruption, with a jaw-dropping Ksh 120 million mess tied to shady disbursements and project irregularities. The Auditor General’s report for FY 2021/2022 pulls no punches, pointing fingers straight at CEO Willis Ombai, who’s now neck-deep in accusations of turning this public fund into his personal piggy bank.
This isn’t just a small slip-up, it’s a full-on betrayal of trust, and the people suffering most are the ones who can’t even get clean water to drink.
Let’s break it down. WaterFund, set up under the Water Act of 2016, is meant to channel grants to counties and support marginalized areas. But under Ombai’s watch, it’s become a cesspool of financial filth.
The audit uncovered Ksh 37 million in disbursement errors, including an extra Ksh 37,182,159 shoveled to Noltuesh Water under some program called CLSG. Worse, Ksh 5,467,479 of that cash has just vanished no explanation, no receipts, nothing.
Then there’s Amatsi Water Services Company Limited, which got Ksh 24,650,000 despite already owing Ksh 26,659,238 from the previous year. By July 2022, their tab with WaterFund hit Ksh 51,309,238, and yet the money kept flowing.
Clearly not Ombai or his team they’re too busy juggling millions like it’s pocket change. And it doesn’t stop there. The audit also flags Ksh 53,889,585 tied to dodgy project spending by WaterFund’s so-called “implementing partners.” That’s over Ksh 53 million that’s supposed to build pipes and toilets but instead ends up in a black hole of irregularities.
The report even catches them red-handed charging fuel and rent costs to donors EU projects included, without a shred of transparency. This isn’t just sloppy bookkeeping, it’s a blatant violation of laws like the Public Finance Management Act and the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, which demand accountability. Apparently, those rules don’t apply when you’re running a racket disguised as a public service.
Willis Ombai’s appointment as CEO is another slap in the face. Whispers of canvassing basically begging for the job taint his rise to the top. Kenyan laws, like the Public Appointments Act, are crystal clear, favoritism should get you booted, not promoted. Yet here he is, presiding over a sinking ship while the people he’s supposed to serve are left high and dry.
The WaterFund has become a pendulum swinging between incompetence and greed, and every time it swings, millions disappear. The ones paying the price? Ordinary Kenyans in underserved areas, still waiting for water while the big shots cash out. This scandal isn’t just about numbers, it’s about broken promises and a leadership too rotten to care.
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