Nairobi City government is fending off accusations that it varied a tender initially awarded to state power agency, the Kenya Electricity Generating (KenGen) Company in favour of a mysterious Chinese company under contestable circumstances.

Consequently, KenGen is challeging the award of the tender to Chinese company in court.

The controversy of the tender to produce 45 megawatts of electricity from the Dandora Dumpsite in Nairobi has sucked in Nairobi City County Governor Johnson Sakaja, who in the recent past has been in the spotlight over graft as Nairobi – once cleanest city in Africa – sinks further into morass with garbage strewn all over the streets, including the central business district where second-hand clothes hawkers and food vendors run the show.

Tell Media understands that KenGen has moved to court to challenge the manner in which the mysterious Chinese tenderer pulled the rag from under its feet without bidding.

When Tell Media reached Governor Johnson Sakaja for comment, the regional government’s communication director Dennis Onsarigo promised ask him to provide a status report – a promise he did not honour. Tell had sought information on the identity of the Chinese contractor, reasons for swapping contractors and ditching KenGen, new project implementation timelines, cost and capacity variations – if any and the site of the plant.

In the absence of a response from Sakaja, Makadara Member of Parliament George Alawa, shed some light on the workings of the regional government, pointing out that Sakaja maybe a pawn in an elaborate fraud scheme orchestrated by the senior national government officials with interest in the energy sector.

“The people behind the award of the tender to the Chinese firm are ruthless. It is an MP from Uasin Gishu County and close ally of President William Ruto that are involved in the deal and are said to have arm-twisted Sakaja to award the tender without bidding. They (cartel) always gang up against the person in charge at City Hall (regional government headquarters). Even when a new governor comes in, they ensure he collaborates with them or else they sabotage him. I don’t understand what is attractive in the garbage  business,” says Aladwa.

However, Nairobi City Country chief officer of environment Ibrahim Auma Nyangoya explained, without providing specifics – that the “marginal” variation in the tender was necessitated by change in leadership of Nairobi county.

“The project will be in Dandora. Two, there are no additional cost. The only thing the county government is doing is provision of land. The cost of construction and maintenance will be borne by the company that was given the tender. What they have proposed is still within the Ksh48 billion budget. If there is any technology that comes up and is better than what we have agreed to work with, then we’ll consider it. The cost doesn’t matter to us as long as we get the right technology,” says Mr Nyangoya.

However, he would not give details of the firm other than saying, “It is a Chinese government firm.” He explained that it was one of the 18 companies that had been prequalified by the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS). The company’s proposal, he adds, is still under review and negotiations for funding are still under discussion..

With a population that oscillates between five and eight million (depending on the time of the day and season) Nairobi generates more than 3,000 tonnes of solid garbage daily. Over the years, the city authorities have been unable to cope with the surge in garbage, necessitating the need for recycling.

The Dandora dumpsite has morphed into a perilous “recycling economy” where around 3,000 families scavenge for plastic, food, clothes, paper and bottles to re-sell for income. A recent UNEP study found that manual scavenging exposes workers to pollution and serious health risks due to hazardous elements like lead, mercury, and cadmium present in the waste. The study says the Dandora dumpsite is a glaring example of environmental injustice, affecting the poor settlements in Nairobi while being polluted by waste from the entire greater Nairobi region.

Interviewed about the Dandora Waste to Power Generation Project, Westlands MP Tim Wanyonyi revealed that the controversy was brought to his attention by Maj-Gen Mohammed Badi in 2022 but the issue was hushed and KenGen forced to cave in to the demands of the criminal underworld.

Documents in Tell Media possession show the plan to generate power from the Dondora Dumpsite that covers more than three acres – and even sprawls into the adjoining slums of more than 3,000 households – was mooted during the reign of Governor Evans Kidero in 2012.

However, when Dr Kidero left office it slipped into dormancy until 2021 when NMS revived it as part of the long-term solution to garbage management in Nairobi that would create 1,000 indirect and 250 direct jobs, correspondence between the office of the president, ministry of lands, ministry of environment, treasury and KenGen show.

An officer at the department of environment, who identified himself only as Tanui, admits the legal tussle has but the project in a limbo and until the dispute is resolved, the project stands deferred.

“I cannot give you more information. The matter is court. That is why I am mean with information (on the project),” Tanui said during an interview in his office at City Hall Annex. His boss, Nyangoya, would not too, delve into the nitty-gritty of the tender.

In a memo dated August 12, 201, former head of civil service Joseph Kinyua gave the all-clear to NMS, ministry of energy and KenGen to commence the project and ensure it was completed in 12 months.

The memo directs that “Over the years, the Nairobi City County has faced challenges in its quest for better solid waste management. Seeking to address these and other related challenges, some years back, the Nairobi City County Government conducted a feasibility study for a Nairobi Urban Waste to Energy Plant with a view to establishing a waste to energy plant. On its part, in 2012 the National Government, through the state owned Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen), had also conducted a feasibility study for a Nairobi Urban Waste to Energy Plant.”

The memo adds: “In furtherance of this agenda and considering that KenGen has the requisite capacity in the energy sector having undertaken electricity generation through the development, management and operation of power plants, the government has directed KenGen and NMS to establish a framework for the installation and running of a waste to energy plant. It is envisaged that this partnership will promote, enhance and enable cooperation and partnership between two parties on the design, installation, commissioning, financing, operation and management of a waste to energy power plant project at Dandora Dumpsite in Nairobi County.”

Against this backdrop, it is not clear at what stage Governor Sakaja dumped KenGen for the Chinese firm. No reason was also given regarding the need for another feasibility study that settled on Ruai Sewer Plant River Bank as the most suitable location instead of the envisaged Dandora dumpsite. The variation of the site of the plants was the subject of a legal tussle that the Environmental Court resolved in favour of Ruai Sewer Plant River Bank.

Nyangoya explains that the KenGen contract was shelved because it was signed with NMS. When Sakaja came to power, the agreement became moot.

In the August 12, 2021 letter Kinyua directed the ministry of energy to immediately take “necessary steps towards the development of Waste to Energy Power Plant at Dandora. Among other things the ministry was to get the requisite approvals and liaise with the National Treasury to raise financing for the engineering, construction and commissioning of the Waste to Energy Power Plant project. The other were to support infrastructure development – access roads, electricity, water, sewerage system and any other necessary utilities – ensure the project was done within deadlines. The letter also required of NMS provide “land within or around the Dandora Dumpsite land, and the solid waste at such terms and conditions as may be agreed.”

“It is the wish of the government to have this plant ready and operational within the shortest possible time period. In this regard, your ministry should establish a working framework with NMS, with specific time bound deliverables so as to ensure the plant is installed and commissioned within a period of 12 months,” the memo says.

• A Tell report