- MPs have questioned Kagumo Teachers’ Training College management over a Sh170 million infrastructure project that has remained unfinished for more than 13 years
- The committee has directed the college to write to relevant authorities within 72 hours, while MPs have proposed a physical site visit to assess the stalled and ongoing projects.
- Auditors flagged a separate stalled hostel project worth Sh65.2 million, with one section remaining at slab level since 2020 as the Ministry of Housing constructs a new 680-student facility.
The National Assembly Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education has demanded answers over a Sh170 million infrastructure project at Kagumo Teachers’ Training College that has remained unfinished for more than 13 years, alongside an electricity generator that has sat unused for about 11 years.
The committee, chaired by Luanda MP Dick Maungu, was scrutinising Auditor-General reports covering the Nyeri-based institution for the financial years 2018/19 to 2024/25 when the stalled projects came under the spotlight.
According to the Auditor-General’s representative, a project comprising classrooms, staircases and washrooms had stalled for more than a decade, with a physical verification conducted on January 10, 2025, finding the project far from completion; only exterior walls and shutters had been constructed on one section of the building. The audit also questioned the status of a generator procured for the project but never installed or formally handed over to the college.
Kagumo Chief Principal Irene Mwangi confirmed the project remained stalled, attributing the delay to inadequate development funding. “It is true we have a stalled project. Nothing has changed,” she told the committee, explaining that the project had initially been implemented under the Ministry of Public Works, with the college yet to formally take over some of the facilities. She said the generator had been received by the Ministry of Public Works but not formally handed over to the college, with the supplier retaining the keys because it had not been paid for under the original project arrangements.
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Kiminini MP Maurice Kaikai Bissau described the situation as unacceptable, saying public resources should not remain tied up in a facility that has never been operationalised.
“It shows a lot of incompetence. You cannot have a white elephant for 11 years,” he said, pressing for an explanation on why successive administrations had failed to resolve the matter.
Former Kagumo chief principal Francis Mwangi, who served between 2018 and 2022, backed the explanation given by the current principal, saying the project had been implemented by the Ministry of Public Works rather than the college, and that the institution had previously engaged the ministry over a dispute involving the contractor. He maintained the generator could not be put into operation because it had never formally become college property.
The committee directed the college management to write to the relevant authorities within 72 hours seeking intervention over the stalled project and generator. Bissau said he would use his position on the National Assembly committee responsible for housing and public works to pursue the matter with the Ministry of Public Works, while Sotik MP Francis Sigei called for ministry officials to be summoned directly to explain the delay. “The Ministry of Public Works has a problem. Why should we go round? Why can’t they answer?” Sigei posed.
MPs also raised questions over discrepancies between figures contained in the audit report and those presented by the college regarding the project’s contract value and level of completion. Kasipul MP and committee vice-chairperson Boyd Were observed that the amount already paid appeared disproportionate to the reported level of completion, a concern Sigei echoed.
Mwangi acknowledged that one of the figures contained an error, clarifying that the correct project value was approximately Sh170 million. Were separately raised concerns over alleged double payments to staff, cautioning the institution against citing inadequate funding while public resources were allegedly being lost through irregular payments, and urged the principal to strengthen financial controls. He proposed that the committee visit the institution to physically assess the projects.
The committee was further briefed on a stalled second wing of the college’s hostel project, estimated at Sh65.2 million, of which works valued at about Sh57.2 million had been undertaken by different contractors in three phases. The project was expected to receive approximately Sh49.3 million from the Ministry of Education, with the college contributing Sh7.9 million. A physical verification conducted on January 13, 2025, found that only one section of the hostel had been completed, while another had remained at slab level since 2020. Mwangi confirmed the findings, saying the college had prepared bills of quantities and requested funding to complete the unfinished section, though the required resources had not yet been released.
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Mwangi told MPs that the Ministry of Housing had since embarked on construction of a new hostel, expected to accommodate about 680 students, after declining to complete the stalled project. She said construction began in February 2026 and was ongoing, though it had encountered challenges related to ground conditions, forcing contractors to excavate deeper after encountering unstable ground, while clearing a forested area had also not been adequately factored into the original bills of quantities. Bissau questioned the pace of construction, noting the project had been underway for several months but remained at slab level, and urged college management and local political leadership to closely monitor the works to ensure students benefit from the additional accommodation.
The committee said it would pursue the outstanding issues with the relevant ministries and indicated it could visit Kagumo Teachers’ Training College to assess the stalled and ongoing projects on the ground.
By Godfrey Wamalwa
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