Nairobi’s ‘garbage’ deal: City Hall hands corruption-tainted Ghana firm 20 years Dandora waste tender
The Nairobi governor Johnson’s led administration has controversially handed a multi-billion 20 years waste management tender to a foreign company, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, an Accra based corruption-tainted entity blacklisted by World Bank and recently disengaged by Ghana President John Dramani Mahama’s administration over alleged corruption and poor accountability, investigations by The Informer Media Group have established.
The controversial deal will also give the widely indicted Ghanaian waste management company unlimited access and usage of the 76-acres Dandora dumpsite, which is a public property.
This comes just days after Sakaja surrendered key functions to the national government that will see President William Ruto’s led administration take charge of garbage collection and disposal, public works and water supply, among other services, for Nairobi residents.
The announcement came just two days after the pair made the announcement that they would jointly collaborate to restore the glory of the city under the sun while attending a church service at AIC Pipeline, Nairobi.
When contacted for comment, by the time of going to publication, Sakaja was yet to give a reply.
Similarly, on October 12, 2025, Ruto announced a new partnership between the national government and the Nairobi City County, a joint initiative which he said would involve the engagement of private sector players to support waste collection and disposal efforts across the city.
“Nairobi cannot continue to be the city in the filth. You see that we have already started cleaning the Nairobi River. And now all estates are in the final stages of signing an agreement with the private sector on how we are going to clean this city. It cannot continue the way it is,” the Head of State said when he attended Sunday Service to commemorate AIC Ziwani Church 70 years of faith and dedicated service.
During the 2025 Devolution Conference in Homa Bay, President Ruto commended Zoomlion Ghana Limited for its advanced, technology-driven waste management facilities after visiting the Jospong Group stand.
According to our investigations, City Hall irregularly procured Zoomlion’s services through a flawed tendering process in which the Ghanian based firm was the only participant in the tender, framed as a local tender instead of a competitive international bid.
Further, despite the tender being a Request For Proposal (RFP) incorporating Public Private Partnership (PPP) aspect where the investor injects financing for the design, construction and subsequently run the waste management facility at Dandora dumpsite, the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015 laws were applied sidelining the input of the Public Procurement Directorate (PPD).
“Under the Tender NO: NCC/ENV/RFP/109/2025-2026: Tender document for request for proposal for the design, construction, operation, maintenance and transfer of an integrated solid waste management system for the Nairobi City County Government advertised in late 2025 and opened on January 8, 2026, it attracted only one bidder, Zoomlion Ghana Limited who has since been awarded the contract,” our source intimated.
Interestingly, a team from City Hall comprising of a team from the Department of Environment and Procurement is expected to depart for Ghana tomorrow, February 15, 2026 for benchmarking tour at Zoomlion’s facilities after the tender award.
Zoomlion Ghana Limited is owned by Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, a Ghanian national who is the founder and Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies who, alongside three others were recently dragged to court for flouting the orders of a High Court in Accra by entering a land that they have been restrained from entering.
An affidavit in support of the motion for contempt accuses Siaw for allegedly hiring thugs to destroy properties of the applicants on the disputed land despite the existence of a court order and a penal notice which was duly served upon and acknowledged by them.
The application, filed before a High Court in Accra in late 2025 by Royal Bell Investment Ltd, Terraform Development Ltd, Nii Adzogah Annang Laryea, Nii Asafoatse Okum Agyemang II, Richard Nii Alabi Bortey and Benjamin Borketey Borteye Seysey, avers that Jospong and the other respondents “would not abate their contemptuous conduct unless they are convicted and punished by imprisonment by the Honourable Court.”
In the suit, the respondents are Siaw, Gabriel Forceby, Gloria Benneh and Sino Africa Development Ltd.
Back to Kenya. In Mombasa, Zoomlion’s subsidiary, Jospong Group of Companies (JGC) is under investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (Eacc) over Sh17billion 35 years contract with the with the Mombasa County government signed by governor Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir.
The request for investigations in form of a petition was filed before Eacc by a Mombasa based civil society group, Centre for Litigation Trust (CLT) demanding probe into the procurement process, including the number of entities that applied, shortlisted firms and expenditure of public funds in execution of the deal.
CLT also wants information on how the contract for the design, construction, financing, operation, and transfer of a waste-to-energy processing plant in Mwakirunge was awarded made public.
In a letter dated 24th October 2025 and addressed to the County Secretary, CLT requested details on the tender process, whether public participation was conducted, the evaluation criteria, the contract period, and whether the deal is a public-private partnership or a regular tender.
