President William Ruto is facing claims that his office intervened to stop the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission from arresting Kenya National Highways Authority Director General Luka Kimeli over a disputed Sh3 billion road tender.

The claim has not been backed by publicly released phone records, EACC files or State House correspondence, but reports circulating around the investigation say officers had prepared to act before intervention from senior government officials.

Neither State House nor EACC has publicly confirmed that an arrest operation was planned, stopped or changed following contact from the presidency.

The claims have emerged as court documents expose serious questions surrounding Tender No. KeNHA/2915/2025 for upgrading the Masara to Muhuru Bay road.

KeNHA intended to award the contract to Lafey Construction Company Limited for Sh3,013,648,316.91, despite another bidder, Ricons General Services Company Limited, submitting an evaluated bid of Sh2,777,395,507.39.

The difference between the two bids was more than Sh236 million, but the records presented in court do not show a clear public explanation for why the higher priced bid was preferred.

The dispute became more serious after documents submitted to prove Lafey Construction’s past experience were sent to China Railway No. 5 Engineering Group Company Limited for confirmation.

China Railway said it had no knowledge of Lafey Construction, had never subcontracted the company in Kenya or elsewhere and had never issued or authorised the documents carrying its name.

The Chinese contractor further said that a KeNHA letter dated December 19, 2025, which supposedly sought confirmation of Lafey’s work history, had never been received by the company.

The attached records show China Railway directly disowned the claimed working relationship and stated that the documents attributed to it did not originate from the company.

Lawyers acting for complainant Francis Kinyua wrote to Kimeli and demanded the immediate suspension of the intended award, a forensic investigation into the disputed documents and identification of every KeNHA officer involved in the evaluation.

The letter further sought referral of the matter to EACC and other investigative agencies for possible criminal investigation and prosecution.

The complaint stated that Lafey Construction lacked the technical experience claimed in its tender submission and that documents used during the procurement process were highly questionable.

It further stated that the email address and telephone numbers used in the supposed correspondence with China Railway were not the company’s official contacts.

KeNHA continued handling the procurement after receiving the complaint and later said it had started an internal review of the process.

The authority did not immediately confirm that the tender had been suspended after receiving China Railway’s written denial.

KeNHA later moved to terminate the tender under Section 63 of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act.

The petitioner argues that the termination came after a notification of intention to award had already been issued and communicated, making the later cancellation legally disputed.

Five days after terminating the process, KeNHA advertised a fresh tender for the same Masara to Muhuru Bay road project.

The High Court petition seeks access to procurement records, evaluation reports, scoring sheets, professional opinions, committee minutes and documents used during due diligence.

It further seeks a declaration that the intended award to Lafey Construction was unlawful and void because it was allegedly based on forged documents and a flawed procurement process.

Kimeli served as acting KeNHA Director General from July 2025 before his formal appointment in February 2026, placing him at the head of the authority during the disputed tender process.

The court papers place several stages of the procurement under question, including the evaluation of Lafey’s experience, verification of supporting documents and the decision to select a bid that was more than Sh236 million above a competing offer.

The documents further raise questions about who received the disputed certificates, who approved their use, who handled verification and who recommended Lafey Construction for the award.

Separate reports claim Kimeli has remained protected because of claims that KeNHA contracts are being used to raise money for future political campaigns.

No public documentary evidence has so far been released proving that Kimeli collected campaign money, acted on presidential instructions or transferred tender proceeds to political organisations.

The documented part of the case concerns a Sh3 billion road tender, a price difference exceeding Sh236 million and documents disowned by the company named as their issuer.

The presidential intervention claim remains unverified, but it has placed fresh attention on EACC’s handling of the case, Kimeli’s continued stay in office and the lack of announced arrests arising from the disputed procurement process.