A deepening corruption scandal at the Coast Water Works Development Agency (CWWDA) has triggered not only public outrage but also an unprecedented political revolt along Kenya’s coastline.
At the centre of the storm lies a KSh 32 million court award to a private contractor, Victory Construction – a payout that internal sources insist should have been challenged, scrutinised and possibly overturned.
Instead, it sailed through.
No appeal. Neither resistance. No explanation.
That silence is now the subject of mounting investigation.
The KSh 32 million that no one fought
Court records show that a magistrate’s ruling ordered CWWDA to compensate Victory Construction. What has alarmed insiders is not merely the size of the award but the agency’s apparent failure to contest it.
Multiple senior sources within CWWDA describe what they believe was a deliberate legal stand-down – a calculated decision not to appeal, effectively clearing the way for public funds to be released.
“This was not a case lost in court,” said one senior official familiar with the file.
“It was surrendered.”
The focus of scrutiny has settled heavily on former CWWDA Chief Executive Engineer Martin Tsuma, who oversaw contracts and legal strategy during the period in question.
As accounting officer, he held ultimate responsibility for safeguarding the agency’s financial interests.
Sources allege that objections were never filed, internal advisories were muted, and key documentation either stalled or vanished.
The KSh 32 million payout, they claim, may represent only a fraction of a broader scheme in which court processes were weaponised to legitimise transfers of public money.
Engineer Tsuma has since been redeployed to a technical role amid separate allegations of receiving kickbacks from contractors – accusations he has not publicly addressed.
Procurement officer Stanislus Jira is also facing scrutiny over the selection of external law firms. According to internal accounts, certain firms appeared less focused on defending the agency’s mandate and more inclined toward facilitating settlements.
The pattern, investigators suggest, points to a system calibrated not to protect public funds but to ease their extraction.
Coastal governors demand disbandment of Coast Water Development Agency over water shortages
Video by Nehemiah Okwembah pic.twitter.com/cVDl9cjAcH
— The Standard Digital (@StandardKenya) February 10, 2026
Dry taps, escalating fury
While millions moved through court corridors, communities across the coast endured persistent water shortages.
Pipelines deteriorated. Repair works stalled. Development projects languished.
Recently, frustration boiled over into coordinated political action.
Governors from the six coastal counties – including Mombasa’s Abdulswamad Sharrif Nassir – convened a press conference demanding the immediate disbandment of the Coast Water Works Development Agency.
The governors accused the agency of chronic mismanagement, inefficiency and failure to deliver water security to the region.
In a joint statement, they called for the transfer of water infrastructure functions to county governments, arguing that the current structure has become an obstacle to service delivery rather than a vehicle for development.
Governor Nassir has already formally written to the Ministry of Water and Sanitation seeking authority for Mombasa County to undertake repairs and rehabilitation directly – an extraordinary step that underscores the collapse of confidence in CWWDA’s stewardship.
Tensions are escalating behind the scenes. County officials allege that technical approvals and maintenance interventions are experiencing unexplained delays, which deepens the suspicion that bureaucratic inertia may be concealing issues beyond mere inefficiency.
A system under the microscope
The unfolding scandal raises urgent questions.
Who authorised the decision not to appeal the KSh 32 million judgement? Was due process deliberately suppressed? And how many other settlements remain obscured within CWWDA’s legal archives?
For residents lining up at water bowsers and rationing supply, the crisis is no longer abstract. It is measured in dry taps and broken pipes.
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The governors of the Coast have now established a political stance. Investigators are closing in. Meanwhile, an agency that was once tasked with ensuring water access for millions is struggling to defend its relevance.
The money has already flowed.
What remains to be seen is whether accountability will follow.
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