Kenya’s so-called green-energy miracle is leaking something far more toxic than carbon emissions—corruption at the very top of KenGen. A Sh2.5 billion tender for the sale of millions of carbon credits, meant to reward clean energy, has instead revealed a shocking web of collusion, exclusion, and brazen favouritism.
The scandal pivots on one narrow technicality: a minor addendum and the interpretation of a single requirement, MR16. Using this, KenGen disqualified Sintmond Group Ltd, the highest bidder, while handing the contract to a cheaper rival consortium. Sintmond insists it met the rules. KenGen referred to the proof as “insider” transactions. The effect? Hundreds of millions lost to the state and funnelled to pre-selected winners.
This is not petty error. This is elite engineering of the tender process. Civil society watchdogs smelled it immediately. The Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB) nullified the award and ordered KenGen to restart the tender. The message is clear: the first process stank, and the stink points straight to top-level interference.
Investigations into Kenya’s carbon-credit market suggest this is far from an isolated case. Allegations are increasing of a cartel—a network of insiders, brokers, and friendly firms rigging tenders and profiting billions. Addenda are drafted to favour winners. Criteria are reinterpreted to exclude high bidders. Evaluators allegedly hide their decisions behind opaque corporate bureaucracy. And KenGen, a state utility, acts as a passive defender of the insiders rather than a protector of public assets.
The stakes are enormous. Public trust is evaporating. Kenya’s climate credibility is on the line. And billions of shillings intended for the state could have been siphoned into private pockets.
It’s time for accountability at the top. KenGen must release full procurement records, the names of evaluators, all internal communications on the MR16 addendum, and the letters that disqualified Sintmond. The Ethics & Anti-Corruption Commission, the Auditor-General, and the DPP must open urgent investigations. Parliamentarians and journalists should demand sworn testimony and full disclosure of contracts.
This isn’t just a tender gone wrong. It’s a warning that Kenya’s green-energy ambitions are under threat from insiders who see public assets as private jackpots. Until the truth is exposed, every carbon credit sold under KenGen’s watch will carry a shadow of corruption.
