The future of over 10,000 students at Matili Technical and Vocational Training Institute hangs in the balance after the High Court in Bungoma permitted a private contractor to proceed with auctioning the institution’s assets to recover a disputed debt of KSh15.6 million.
Lady Justice Rose Ougo declined to issue restraining orders sought by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), effectively authorising Ramagon Construction Company to seize and sell the institute’s movable property. Items slated for auction include training equipment, electronics, power generators, furniture, livestock, and foodstuffs, all critical to the institution’s daily operations.
The EACC, through advocate Ronald Kibet, argued that the debt claimed by Ramagon was nonexistent, resulting from deliberate fraud. According to the Commission, the construction company was fully paid for its work between 2016 and 2017 but concealed this fact when it sued the institution in 2020, seeking additional payment.
Court documents reveal that in 2011, Matili TVET awarded Ramagon a tender worth KSh29.3 million for the construction of a Twin Workshop Complex. The amount was later revised to KSh58.9 million. The contractor reportedly handed over the completed facility in July 2013, having received KSh49.9 million at that point. The EACC asserts that the remaining balance of KSh9 million was paid in full by April 2017.
Despite these findings, the High Court upheld a previous ruling awarding the contractor KSh15.4 million in alleged arrears, thereby rejecting the EACC’s application to halt the auction. The EACC identified Abdi Barre Abdi, Hassan Bare Abdi, and Nagenye Mohamud Dahir as the firm’s directors, alleging they deliberately misled the lower court by withholding crucial payment evidence.
The Commission warned that the institute faces imminent closure, as the depletion of critical resources threatens to halt its operations entirely. One motor vehicle used for student driver training has reportedly already been sold.
The EACC has vowed to pursue criminal charges against the contractors, insisting that public funds are being looted through fraudulent claims.
