Mombasa County faces scrutiny over US$132M waste management tender awarded to Ghanaian firm

KENYA – The Mombasa County Government has come under fire from a human rights organization for allegedly awarding a KES17 billion (US$131.58m) waste-to-energy management tender to a Ghanaian conglomerate without due process or approval from the County Assembly.

In a statement, the Centre for Litigation Trust (CLT) accused the county, under Governor Abdullswamad Nassir, of conducting the tender process in secrecy and failing to ensure public participation as required by law.

The group demanded transparency regarding the design, construction, financing, operation, and transfer of the proposed waste-to-energy processing plant in Mwakirunge.

The CLT has given the county a seven-day ultimatum to provide key details of the contract, including the list of applicants, evaluation criteria, score sheets, completion timelines, and the total quoted amounts.

The organization also demanded clarification on whether the deal was structured as a public-private partnership (PPP) and, if so, whether it was ever tabled before the County Assembly for deliberation.

“We seek to know whether the tender is a PPP or a normal procurement and if the project was properly presented before the County Assembly,” CLT said in its letter to the county.

“Public participation as mandated by law has never been undertaken.”

The controversy follows a Mombasa County delegation’s visit to Ghana in early August, which reportedly paved the way for the partnership.

The development has stirred discontent within the Mombasa County Assembly, with some members alleging they were sidelined in the process.

Bamburi MCA Patrick Mwavule questioned the legality of the deal, insisting the assembly had not approved it.

“I sit in the assembly and have never been part of such a conversation. Has there been any kind of deliberation regarding the services to be rendered to the people of Mombasa?” he asked.

The alleged lack of transparency in the high-value project has reignited debate over governance and accountability in county-level infrastructure partnerships, especially those involving foreign investors.

Similar controversies have emerged elsewhere in Kenya. In 2023, Nakuru County’s KES12 billion (US$92.88m) waste-to-energy project faced public backlash over opaque procurement procedures, while Kisumu’s waste conversion initiative stalled amid legal challenges over environmental compliance.

As pressure mounts, Mombasa County is expected to respond formally to CLT’s demands, clarifying the tendering process and the role of the County Assembly in the multi-billion-shilling waste management deal.

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