Three Kenyan government groups are investigating allegations of corruption and flawed bidding procedures for a $3.8-billion railway construction contract awarded to China Roads and Bridge Corp. The contract, which covers a 485-kilometer section of the Standard Gauge Railway from the port city of Mombasa to the capital of Nairobi, marks the first phase of a $14-billion railway project that, ultimately, will link Mombasa to Kampala, Uganda.

Alfred Keter, a Kenyan national assemblyman, helped to trigger the probe when he alleged the award of the contract may have been influenced by corruption and noted it had not been procured by an open bidding system. Additionally, Keter asserted the cost of the contract was too high.