President William Ruto has hit back at opposition leaders over allegations of corruption in the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), accusing them of selectively interpreting a World Bank report to politically attack his administration while ignoring the circumstances under which the project was undertaken.
Speaking in Narok during a church service at St Mary’s Girls High School, the President challenged opposition politicians to read the entire World Bank report rather than rely on sections highlighting procurement irregularities and governance failures in the construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi railway.
Ruto maintained that the first phase of the SGR, which has been at the centre of renewed corruption concerns, was constructed under a previous administration and questioned why his government was being blamed for alleged irregularities surrounding the project.
“I have heard some leaders saying that the World Bank report said there was some corruption in procurement in government. What they are not saying is that the SGR was built under a different regime,” Ruto said.
He went further to suggest that some opposition leaders could have benefited from the controversial procurement arrangements, warning them against criticising the government while potentially benefiting from proceeds linked to the railway contracts.
“It could be that part of the money sponsoring your campaigns are proceeds of the SGR tenders.
