After the chief prosecutor ordered his arrest on charges of corruption, Kenya’s finance minister surrendered to the authorities.
Henry Rotich is charged with flouting procurement procedures in awarding the Italian company CMC de Ravenna a contract worth more than $450 m (£ 405 m) to build two dams.
Mr Rotich dismissed any misdeeds in a big newspaper advertisement in March.
The charges were also rejected by the company.
Public prosecution director Noordin Haji is also reviewing how the tender has been awarded more than in the initial agreement for $170 million.
“It was established that the conception, procurement and payment process for the dam projects were riddled with massive illegalities,” he said.
He ordered the arrest of more than 20 other individuals, including other top officials and CMC de Ravenna managers, accused of being engaged in the contract.
Local media reported earlier this year that inquiry files revealed acquisitions that seemed meaningless to a dam building project, including at least $38,000 supposedly spent on bedding.
Mr Haji informed Ferdinand Omondi of the BBC that “the contracts that were entered into and the loans that were taken were not in the interests of Kenyans but were serving other interests” and “the country has lost quite a bit of money”.
Over $200 million has already been spent on the dam projects-yet there are no dams yet.