Sh40m Nandi Library Halted Over Funding, Contract Row
The architect later prepared a Sh26.7 million Bill of Quantities, which formed the foundation of a contract signed on September 11, 2023.
The NGO bought plots of land worth over Sh10 million in Saniak village and relied on Caleb to find an architect. Tiffany then met architect Nicholus Koech, who visited the site and agreed to design the library. Photo/ The Star
By Juliet Jerotich
A Sh40 million Nandi County community library project has ground to a halt following a heated row between Kanken Connect Inc., a non-profit NGO, and the project’s major stakeholders, including former KenGen chairman Joshua Choge and members of his family.
The row caused the NGO to withdraw funding and sue some of the contractors for breach of contract. As a result, the construction was left midway.
Kanken Connect Inc. founder Tiffany Ninemire is a member of the Choge family through marriage. According to court records, the NGO had received a donation for the project, which was to build a library to benefit the local community.
The NGO’s lawyer, Chepkirui Koech, has sued Jordan Choge, son of the former KenGen boss, and Leah and Moss Company Ltd at Kapsabet Court. The Kenken Connect Literacy Foundation has also been added as an interested party.
The foundation’s directors, Koech says, told her clients that they could not be directors as they were foreigners. She says that Tiffany trusted them because they were family members. Koech further accuses Joshua Choge and his son Caleb of dictating that the construction contract be awarded to Jordan Choge.
The NGO bought plots of land worth over Sh10 million in Saniak village and relied on Caleb to find an architect. Tiffany then met architect Nicholus Koech, who visited the site and agreed to design the library. However, Jordan is alleged to have bypassed Tiffany and signed a deal with the architect, naming Kanken Connect Inc. as the client.
While Tiffany was in the US, Caleb instructed her to pay the architect $21,000 in two instalments to avoid government suspicion. The architect later prepared a Sh26.7 million Bill of Quantities, which formed the foundation of a contract signed on September 11, 2023.
The NGO had spent Sh13.3 million on the foundation, walls, and columns. Midway, Tiffany found unauthorized changes to the design, including an extra 400 sq. ft. She refused to approve an extra Sh4.8 million that the defendants needed. Independent valuations determined that work valued at only Sh7.4 million had been done.
Tiffany seeks a refund of Sh6 million, damages for breach of contract, and an injunction to prevent further work. The defendants have denied the allegations, stating that more work was done on Tiffany’s instructions.
The case awaits a hearing date.
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