, NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 7 – Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) Board Chairman John Ngumi was back in court Wednesday, on the second day of his cross-examination by lawyers representing former officials facing graft corruption charges over the procurement of a Sh1.7 billion Kisumu oil jetty.
Ngumi, who is a State witness in the trial of former Managing Director Joe Sang and other top officials of KPC, has been fielding questions from Tuesday, mainly on how the officials facing charges, including former MD Joe Sang made decisions not approved by the board.
He Tuesday told a Milimani Magistrate Court presided over by Principal Magistrate Victor Wakumile Sang’s decisions amounted to a breach of procurement regulations, leading to the loss of colossal sums in taxpayers money.
Sang, alongside five co-accused persons, have denied engaging in Sh1.7 billion Kisumu oil jetty project prior to approval of the KPC board, and improperly conferring amounts that exceed the approved budget.
Appearing in court on June 20, Ngumi said about Sh500 million allocated to the project was not properly utilized.
“As far as I know the amount mentioned was not utilized,” Ngumi told the court at the time.
According to Ngumi, the procurement process was compromised midway after an unauthorized press release by the Corporate Communications Manager on the budget of the project was released to the public.
Ngumi said he never got to see the contract which was awarded to Southern Engineering Company Ltd.
Ngumi’s cross-examination started on August 6 with 30 other witnesses are lined up to testify.
In a recent report to the Annual General Meeting, Ngumi emphasized the board’s commitment to ensure KPC becomes the region’s premier oil and gas player by laying the foundation for its diversification and expansion into both maritime transport and crude oil exports.
“This marks a significant milestone towards the achievement of our 2015/25 10-year Corporate Strategic Plan which aims at transforming KPC into a world-class diversified oil and gas company,” he said in the report.
And to ensure that KPC retains and expands its domestic and regional markets, Ngumi said, KPC undertook a comprehensive feasibility study and Preliminary Engineering Design for development of pipeline network to the counties.
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