A major corruption scandal has engulfed the Coast Water Works Development Agency (CWWDA), raising serious questions about governance, accountability, and the future of water security across Kenya’s Coast region.
At the centre of the controversy is a KSh 32 million court award paid to Victory Construction — a payout critics argue should never have been allowed to stand. More troubling is not the ruling itself, but the silence that followed it.
No appeal was filed. No objection was raised. No effort was made to protect public funds.
The KSh 32 Million Ruling No One Defended
Multiple sources within CWWDA allege that the agency’s legal team deliberately failed to challenge a magistrate’s decision awarding Victory Construction KSh 32 million. What should have been a routine legal contest instead turned into an uncontested transfer of public money.
Insiders describe the failure to appeal as calculated rather than accidental, pointing to possible collusion between senior management, in-house legal officers, and the contractor.
“This was not incompetence,” said one senior source familiar with the matter. “It was engineered. Everyone knew their role. Once the money was released, it was to be shared.”
According to these accounts, the payout was only a fraction of a wider scheme designed to siphon funds from the agency while disguising the theft as a lawful court obligation. Critical files allegedly disappeared, objections were never filed, and internal safeguards failed at every stage.
Leadership Under Scrutiny
Responsibility for the controversial dealings, insiders say, ultimately rests with former CWWDA Chief Executive Engineer Martin Tsuma, who was in charge during the agency’s engagements with Victory Construction and oversaw key legal and contractual decisions.
Engineer Tsuma, once a powerful figure in Coast water infrastructure, has since been demoted to a technical officer amid allegations of receiving kickbacks from contractors. He has not publicly responded to the accusations.
The scandal, however, appears to extend beyond one individual.
Procurement and Legal Manipulation Claims
Procurement officer Stanislus Jira is also facing scrutiny over claims that tenders were awarded to law firms with little incentive to defend CWWDA’s interests. Sources allege that procurement decisions prioritised personal convenience and private gain over safeguarding public resources.
“The pattern is consistent,” another insider said. “Law firms were selected not to protect the agency, but to facilitate payouts.”
If proven, the allegations would point to a systemic breakdown in procurement oversight and legal accountability within the agency.
Water Crisis on the Ground
The impact of the alleged corruption is being felt far beyond courtrooms and boardrooms. Across the Coast region, residents continue to endure chronic water shortages as infrastructure deteriorates and key projects stall.
Communities are forced to ration water while millions of shillings disappear through paperwork and unchallenged court awards.
Governor Seeks Intervention as Tensions Rise
In response to the worsening situation, Coast Governor Abdulswamad Sharrif Nassir has formally written to the Ministry of Water and Sanitation seeking authority to take over the repair and rehabilitation of water infrastructure within the county.
The request is highly unusual and reflects a deep loss of confidence in CWWDA’s ability to manage critical water systems.
Even so, critics claim that certain technical offices — allegedly still under the influence of Engineer Tsuma — are frustrating repair efforts. The aim, they argue, is to engineer system failures that justify emergency tenders and open new avenues for corruption.
Unanswered Questions
As investigators close in, critical questions remain unanswered: Who authorised the legal silence? Who benefited from the KSh 32 million payout? And how many similar deals remain hidden in CWWDA’s records?
For a region already struggling with water scarcity, accountability is no longer optional. The scandal has spilled into the open — and it is refusing to dry up.