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China Blocked Kenya From Getting Competitive Bids to Build Costly Railway, Supreme Court Told

by Cobus van Staden
File image of the Kenyan Supreme Court in Nairobi. YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP

Kenya’s Supreme Court hearings into the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) deal are revealing a deal tainted by collusion between Chinese and Kenyan actors. The account emerging from testimony shows that the deal defied oversight from the start.

COMPETITIVE BIDDING: Financing depended on China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) getting the contract and Chinese authorities put pressure on Kenya to avoid a competitive tender process. CRBC also handled the impact assessment processes for its own project – a clear conflict of interest.

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