Water CS Blames Stalled Thwake Dam Project to Russia-Ukraine War

Water Cabinet Secretary Eric Mugaa has cited the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as the reason behind the stalled construction of the Ksh.82 billion Thwake multi-purpose dam, a critical infrastructure project at the confluence of the Thwake and Athi rivers on the Kitui-Makueni counties border.

Appearing before the Senate on Wednesday, Mugaa faced tough questions from Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo over the repeated delays in completing the dam, which broke ground in March 2018.

In response, the CS linked the setbacks to difficulties in procuring explosives necessary for blasting the rocky foundation.

“Our access to explosives required to blast the foundations of the rock bed was not easily accessible. It slowed the progress of the work. It’s a global market,” Mugaa explained, attributing the supply challenges to disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which escalated in February 2022.

His justification, however, did not sit well with senators, who pressed him on the connection between the Eastern European war and a dam project in East Africa.

The Thwake Dam project has faced multiple delays over the years.

In January 2024, the government, for the fourth time, extended the completion timeline after the main contractor, China Gezhouba Group Company, admitted it could not meet the February 4, 2024, deadline.

The firm requested an extension until December 2024.

By that time, over Ksh.22 billion—largely funded by the African Development Bank—had already been spent on the project.

By June, then-Water CS Zachariah Njeru reported that the government had spent more than Ksh.36 billion to complete the dam’s embankment area, assuring that phase one of the project would be finished by December 2024.

The dam, once completed, is expected to provide water for domestic use, hydropower generation, and irrigation in the semi-arid Ukambani region.

However, with delays piling up and explanations now tied to geopolitical tensions, concerns remain over whether the project will meet its latest completion target.