How did a $12 million bridge collapse in Kenya?

$12 million Chinese-built Sigiri bridge in Western Kenya collapsed before it was completed. President Uhuru Kenyatta inspected the project two weeks before the collapse.

It was an embarrassing collapse for Kenya's ruling party.

On June 26, just two weeks after an "inspection" by President Uhuru Kenyatta, a $12 million Chinese-built Sigiri bridge in Western Kenya collapsed before it was completed.

Built by the Chinese Overseas Construction and Engineering Company in Busia County, the bridge connects a region that has historically lacked government investment and development. Around a dozen people died on the river after a boat capsized while attempting to cross in 2014.

President Kenyatta's Jubileee Coalition has made infrastructure development a key pillar of its reelection strategy ahead of the coming presidential election.

On June 14, he made a campaign stop at the Sigiri bridge construction site and spoke to crowds gathered along the river.

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He promised the bridge would bring development that the region had been denied for decades.

"There is a big difference between those who will sell to you propaganda and people who will sell to you real agenda for change," President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a statement posted on the