Nairobi — A few officers stuck out their necks to raise the red flag over what they were convinced was an irregular land purchase.

The most notable were city planning director Peter Kibinda and his deputy Peter Odongo.

Together with a colleague at the department, Mr J.K. Barreh, they made it clear to the Town Clerk and members of the council's procurement committee that the identified land was unsuitable for a cemetery.

Further, the three pointed out that the tender process was defective. But their advice seems to have been ignored.

Mr Odongo told the Nation that he had expressed his dissatisfaction concerning the procurement but was ignored.

"It was not my mandate to question the tender process, thus it was taken as a side comment," he said.

On Wednesday, Mr Odongo reiterated his stand that the procured land was acquired illegally and described the tendering documents as "defective."

According to the planner, there are regulations that should be adhered to before a parcel of land is converted for public use, a cemetery in this case.

"Some planning issues were overlooked during tendering but the process was quickly completed before anything could be done about it," Mr Odongo said.

Mr Odongo says in case of a public cemetery, consultations should be made with residents in the vicinity of the proposed site and proof submitted to the area county council.

The soil profile is also a major factor, with the land required to have red soil that is suitable for decomposition of bodies, he said.

The other voice of reason was A. M. Itui, the deputy Commissioner of Lands, who sounded the warning that a valuation report submitted to the city council was a forgery.

Then there is Ms Edith Torome, the then legal counsel for the Local Government ministry. Though she was involved in talks with the Treasury to obtain cash for the project, PS Sammy Kirui later sidelined her from the transaction, saying the city council had enough competent lawyers.

Ms Torome, who questioned the integrity of the transaction, has been transferred to the Higher Education ministry.

A House team probing the deal seems to have exonerated Mr Herman Chavera. Mr Chavera, the chief finance officer at Local Government objected to the transaction on December 18, 2008, saying the process was defective.

He also suggested that ministry lawyers should peruse the relevant documents to ensure proper procedures were followed.

However, the PS ignored his objections and excluded the legal officer from the transaction.

Though he later processed payment for the deal, the committee noted "he seemed to be under intense pressure to write and release the cheques."

Lands minister James Orengo was also commended for insisting that a transaction involving more than Sh20 million had to be approved by him. He said the deal could be cancelled due to alterations on critical documents.