Transport and Roads Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has filed a petition against Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei over corruption accusations amounting to Ksh.15.3 billion.

In a letter dated November 29, 2023, Murkomen accused the Senator of defamation following the allegations that the CS collected over Ksh.15.3 billion ($100M) bribe from a Chinese Company, China Wu Yi early in the year.

Through his lawyers, Murkomen demanded the Senator to accept the accusation and proceed to tender a public apology within a week, failure to which the CS would continue to take legal action against him.

“The said offensive words tend to lower the reputation of our client in the estimation of the ordinary, just and right-thinking members of the society,” stated the letter.

“In view of the above, our instructions are that we demand, which we hereby do, that within seven (7) days from the date of this letter, you do the following: Accept liability for defamation to give way to negotiations and tender an unqualified apology in writing to our client through the same channels through which you published the offending words.”

The latter added: “Take further notice that if you fail to comply with the terms of this demand within the time specified above, we have firm and unequivocal instructions to institute court proceedings against you without any further reference to you. This will be at your peril as to costs and other incidentals attendant to such court action.”

In the said accusations, Cherargei was speaking at the Senate after the Murkomen was summoned to explain the state of roads and other infrastructures in the country.

Cherargei who has recently clashed severally with the Cabinet Secretary, asserted that out of the said bribe, Murkomen had already received half of the money amounting to over Ksh.7.6 billion as a deposit.

"He has visited China severally and you heard on the floor of the House defending Chinese Contractors. Where will the hustler contractors who voted for us go, if you are giving them contexts? Because he received a bribe and I am daring him to come clean on the allegation of receiving a hundred million US Dollars from China Wu Yi when he visited in the month of between June and October,” the MP said.

The lawmaker went on to claim that the said rumsum had been stashed in Dubai adding that he could even provide the evidence.

“So I want to dare him to tell the country what agreement he made on allegation of receiving a hundred million US Dollars from China Wu Yi where he was paid an upfront of fifty million, and we have all the facts, we have the flight manifest, we know where the money is in Dubai,” claimed Cherargei.

According to the Senator, the alleged bribe was why the CS was allegedly advocating for the Chinese to receive contracts in the country and at the same time denying local citizens the same contracts.

"I want him to come out and tell the country because whenever he came to insult me in the funeral he defended the Chinese Contractors, who will defend Kenyans who are contractors, or does it mean that Kenyans don't have the capacity to do roads? Even slashing and unclogging drainages, do we need Chinese to come and slash, where will our young people who do not have jobs go?" The Senator said.