The lobbying has gone quiet. The denials sound rehearsed. And now a Kenyan minister is in contempt of court. The row? A US-backed Ebola centre. The question being asked in Whitehall? Where did British aid end up?
This is not a drill. A Kenyan high court judge has found Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe in contempt for failing to comply with an order to release documents linked to the construction of a multi-million dollar Ebola treatment unit in northern Kenya. The unit was funded by the US Agency for International Development and the UK Department for International Development.
Sources inside the Foreign Office are nervous. Very nervous. They know what comes next. Opposition MPs in Nairobi are demanding a full parliamentary inquiry. Back here, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary has tabled written questions. The word ‘fiduciary duty’ has been uttered in private meetings.
The centre, built near the border with South Sudan, was supposed to be a flagship of pandemic preparedness. Instead, it has become a symbol of opaque contracting. The court order was for details of the procurement process. The government delayed. Then ignored. Now contempt.
What concerns me is the trail. If UK aid money flowed through a contractor that now cannot account for its spending, the International Development Committee will want answers. They will not be gentle. The minister in question, Kagwe, was once seen as a reformer. No longer.
I have spoken to a former DFID official. Off the record. His quote: “We were always worried about the governance filters in Nairobi. This case proves the filters are broken.”
Also watch for the diplomatic fallout. The US embassy in Nairobi has declined to comment. That silence is telling. They usually defend their projects. Not this time.
So here is the bottom line. A minister in contempt. A UK aid project under scrutiny. And a government in London that hates this kind of headline. The game has changed. From a technical dispute to a political crisis. I will be watching the Order Paper for those questions.
