EACC summons Kisumu County Assembly Speaker over LBDA Mall.

Kisumu County Assembly Speaker Onyango Oloo being escorted to EACC offices in Kisumu today after being summoned to shade more light on the issue of the construction of the Lake Basin Development Authority Mall.He was the chairman for the Board of Directors of LBDA-By Dickson Odhiambo.

 By Dickson Odhiambo

June 4, 2019.

EACC summons Kisumu County Assembly Speaker over LBDA Mall.

THE Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has today summoned Speaker of the County Assembly of Kisumu over the issue of the Lake Basin Development Authority Mall.

Kisumu County Assembly Speaker Onyango Oloo who was the then chairman of the Lake Basin Development Authority at the time the LBDA Mall was being constructed has been summoned by the Anti-graft body to shade more light on the issue of tenders for the construction of the Mall located along Kisumu-Kakamega Road.

There has been allegations about misappropriation of public funds in regard to the construction of the multi-billion mall that is owned by the Lake Development Authority.

He was the Chairman of Lake Basin Development Authority for a period of one and half years according to Speaker Oloo who has addressed the press after being summoned today.

The EACC detectives conducted a search in two houses belonging to the Speaker Onyango Oloo both at Mamboleo area and within the posh Mlimani Estate in the wee hours this morning.

The Detectives from the EACC had a court order allowing them conduct search at the residences of Speaker Oloo.

The EACC detectives later escorted the Kisumu County Assembly Speaker to his offices at the County Assembly of Kisumu premises opposite Kisumu Central Police station where they were looking for some documents related to the matter they are pursuing but did not come out with anything.

They later drove Speaker Oloo to the EACC Western Kenya regional offices where they grilled him for nearly two hours before allowing him to address the press within the premise.

Speaker Oloo who addressed the press indeed confirmed that the EACC has summoned him and has conducted search in his three residences with two in Kisumu and one in Nairobi today morning by 6:00 am in regard to the issue of LBDA mall during his tenure as the Chair of Board of Directors.

“It is true that the EACC officers have conducted searches in my homes both in Nairobi and Kisumu today morning and I am cooperating because I have nothing to hide. The officers have conducted themselves professionally,” Oloo says.

He confirmed that some documents have been found in his house when the EACC conducted the search in one of the houses in the Kisumu.

Speaker Oloo says EACC should be allowed to conduct thorough investigations on various cases revolving corruption across the country, adding that he is innocent on the matter that is currently facing him.

He says this is not the first time he has been summoned by the ant-graft body on the matter, adding that this is the second time he is recording a statement with EACC.

“The EACC must be given enough chance to thoroughly conduct investigations and arraigned in court anybody who is suspected to have engaged themselves in corrupt activities. I said this and I repeat, it is not about Onyango Oloo but about our country and does not mean I am guilty or innocent, let them investigate. I maintain my innocence as per now,” Oloo added.

Oloo says for the country to start on a clean slate, those who are culpable should carry their own cross on the issue of corruption.

He clarifies that by the time he was leaving as the Chair of LBDA, there were no payments made as far as the issue of the construction of the mall was concerned.

Oloo further says the initial tender cost of the construction of the mall was about shs 2.5billion, adding that by the time he was leaving as the chairman they committed the Authority to about shs 3.8billion and that raised concerns that they may have varied the contract beyond the 25 percent that is permitted by the law.

“I have always maintained that this is not true because there has been the difference between variations and additions. There were additions that did not form part of the initial contract of shs 2.5billion and these additions amounted to about shs 620million and if added to shs 2.5billion thus gives about shs 3.5billion so that variations could only be about shs 630 million which is 19 percent and not 46 percent if you work with figure of shs 4.2billion,” Oloo said.

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