Justin Muturi: Arror dam report said no dam could be built, yet Ksh10B paid
By Kenneth Mwenda, September 15, 2025Former Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi has reignited debate on the Arror and Kimwarer dam scandals, saying Kenyans were duped into paying billions for projects that were never viable.
Muturi claimed that the feasibility report on the Arror Dam clearly stated that no dam could be built, yet almost Ksh10 billion was still paid to contractors.
“On Arror, the report itself said no dam can be built. Yet nearly 10B was paid. This is outright theft,” Muturi said in a post on X on Monday, September 15, 2025.
He added that the Kimwarer project, which was touted as being 1 per cent complete, only had “a 20ft container dumped in a corner” despite nearly Ksh20 billion already spent. Muturi said he rejected calls to travel to Italy to negotiate with contractors, arguing that such a trip would have been used to sanitise theft.
“They’ve even tried to persuade me to travel to Italy and “negotiate” with the contractors. I refused because I will never be used to sanitise theft.”
Grand promises, little progress
The Arror and Kimwarer projects were launched with promises of hydropower, irrigation, and domestic water supply in Elgeyo Marakwet. Together, they were expected to cost over Ksh63 billion. However, little work was ever done. In 2019, a technical committee declared the Kimwarer project neither technically nor financially viable and cancelled it. The committee allowed Arror to proceed but at a reduced cost.
Despite this, payments had already been made to Italian contractors and suppliers. Former Treasury CS Henry Rotich and other senior officials were charged in court but the cases later collapsed.
President William Ruto has since pledged to revive the two dams, saying they are critical to food security and power generation. He announced plans to travel to Italy with local governors to secure agreements for construction to resume.
The projects remain a sore point for residents of Elgeyo Marakwet, many of whom were promised land compensation and development benefits. Years later, locals say they were left with nothing but abandoned drilling sites and broken promises.