By Martin Masai
theanchormedia.org
Anti Graft War Widens in Machakos as Scores of County Staff Record Statements Over ‘Air Supplies’ Scandal
A quiet procession has been streaming into Kiamba Mall, 3rd Floor, Machakos town since last Friday.
They are not shoppers. Neither are they business executives.They are County Government of Machakos staff.
Directors. Chief Officers. Procurement officers. Accountants. Store managers. Health officials. Officers across cadres.
They are walking into the Machakos offices of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to record statements in what is emerging as one of the most expansive procurement investigations ever to hit the county.
At the centre of the storm are allegations of procurement irregularities and fraudulent payments running into hundreds of millions of shillings, involving a cluster of firms accused of “supplying air” — and when they supplied anything at all, allegedly delivering goods and services that bore little relation to value for money.
Opening the Floodgates
A letter dated February 18, 2026, and referencing earlier correspondence from October 2025, confirms that EACC is investigating procurement and payment transactions within the County Government of Machakos.
The letter, signed by County Secretary Dr Muya Ndambuki lists four companies said to feature prominently in the probe:
Belmont Consultants, Nadimer Care and Medics Limited, Detta Promise and
Jamfed Agencies
County officials have been formally invited through their Chief Officers for “interview and statement recording” (sic)at the Commission’s Machakos offices.
But what appears procedural on paper has translated into something much larger on the ground.
According to knowledgeable sources within the county administration, scores of officers have already appeared before investigators, with more lined up in the coming days.
“It is one among the many investigations lined up for Machakos that are both historical and current. Investigators are not sleeping due to the workload,” a source familiar with the probe told The Anchor.
The transactions under scrutiny are not confined to one administration.
Sources indicate the questioned supplies span the tenure of former governor Alfred Mutua and stretch well into the current administration of Governor Wavinya Ndeti — where insiders claim the alleged haemorrhage of public funds escalated.
The companies are said to have supplied a wide array of goods and services across multiple departments, including:
Medicines,Non-pharmaceutical medical supplies,Consultancy services and General goods and services.
The Ministry of Health appears to be at the epicentre of the unfolding inquiry.
Sources say over 40 health officials — cutting across cadres from Chief Officers to directors and technical staff — are implicated or have been summoned to shed light on procurement, verification, payment approvals and store records starting Friday this week.
Multiple insiders describe a pattern that investigators are now painstakingly reconstructing: payments processed for goods that either never arrived, arrived partially, or were grossly overpriced.
In some cases, sources allege, documentation reflected deliveries that physical verification cannot substantiate.
In others, goods were reportedly delivered but at inflated prices or without adherence to procurement procedures — raising the spectre of collusion between internal officers and external suppliers.
The total financial exposure is still being tabulated, but preliminary internal estimates suggest losses could run into hundreds of millions of shillings.
If substantiated, it would represent not just procedural irregularity — but systemic failure, making devolution an expensive enterprise.
This investigation is not isolated.
Sources intimate that the Machakos County administration is currently under review on several procurement fronts — both historical and current.
The workload at the Commission’s regional office is said to be intense.