KURA Director Oginga in Fresh Fraud and Power Grab Plot

NAIROBI — Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) director Wilfred Oginga is once again on the spot over fresh claims of fraud, political lobbying, and behind-the-scenes schemes to topple his superiors as he angles for one of the country’s most powerful infrastructure positions.

Oginga, who heads Urban Roads Planning and Design at KURA, has long courted controversy. In 2022, a lobby group petitioned the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to investigate his alleged questionable wealth. The group accused him of amassing luxury homes in Karen and Syokimau, allegedly financed through kickbacks from Chinese contractors partnering with H. Young, a major road construction firm. He was further linked to a microfinance entity, Koba Capital, which was reportedly used as a front to launder bribes disguised as loans to proxy contractors involved in stalled road projects in Homa Bay County.

Despite these allegations, Oginga has consistently sought higher office. Insiders reveal that he unsuccessfully lobbied to replace Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo, allegedly with backing from Raila Odinga’s close allies, including Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga. President William Ruto is said to have personally rejected the move, leaving Omollo in office. Oginga later made another bid for a senior government posting, but the National Intelligence Service reportedly blocked his appointment after submitting a damaging dossier on his integrity.

At KURA, Oginga is now accused of waging an internal war against Director General Silas Kinoti. Unlike his counterparts at KeNHA and KeRRA who resigned in a surprise purge earlier this year, Kinoti survived the shake-up, a development that sources say “deeply pained” Oginga, who had expected to benefit from Kinoti’s removal.

According to multiple insiders, Oginga has since been orchestrating smear campaigns against Kinoti, using a network of bloggers and select journalists to circulate damaging stories while distancing himself from the propaganda. “He times the attacks carefully, often when he is away on official trips, so he can deny involvement,” one senior official at the roads ministry told The Informant.

Only last week, while attending a Knowledge Sharing Programme workshop in Seoul, South Korea, alongside Kinoti, Oginga was said to be simultaneously coordinating attacks against his boss back home. At the same time, he has reportedly positioned himself to take over as Director General of either KeNHA or KeRRA should the opportunity arise.

But Oginga’s ambitions appear to be hitting a wall. Investigative agencies have already placed him under the radar, with the EACC reportedly blacklisting him from clearance for any senior government appointment. Earlier this year, the commission summoned top officials from KURA, KeNHA and KeRRA in connection with a corruption probe, further tightening the noose around Oginga’s career.

For now, the man once tipped to rise to the top ranks of Kenya’s infrastructure sector finds himself increasingly isolated, his future clouded by integrity hurdles, political miscalculations, and the growing perception that his ambition may have outpaced his credibility.