Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu, his wife Susan Wangari Ndung'u and several others have denied multiple charges corruption-related charges linked to a Sh588 million roads upgrade tender.
Governor Waititu was arrested on Sunday 28, after presenting himself at Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) headquarters at Integrity Centre after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji ordered his arrest, that of his wife and eight others.
The governor surrendered to the EACC after being sought for hours by the police.
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His lawyer Kipchumba Karori, said the governor had been “out of town since Friday evening” when news broke out that he was wanted for prosecution.
Proceeds of corruption
“He arrived last (Saturday) evening and he has presented himself now to the authorities. There was confusion,” the lawyer said.
Waititu and his team are accused of fraudulent accusation of public funds, money laundering, flouting procurement laws, conflict of interest and abuse of office in relation to Sh588 million road tenders awarded to a company belonging to his associate last year.
The DPP recommended the charges after the EACC submitted the Kiambu file to him on July 9.
The tenders were awarded to Testimony Enterprise that is owned by Charles Chege and his wife Beth Wangeci, who are expected to be charged alongside Waititu and Lukas Wahinya, the chief officer for roads.
Forensic investigations and bank records show Testimony advanced Sh25 million to Saika Two Estate Developers Ltd owned by the governor and his daughter Monica Njeri to buy Bieneveu Delta Hotel Limited, which is owned by Waititu and his wife.
The hotel received another Sh18 million believed to be proceeds of corruption from Testimony.
The beleaguered governor, also known as Wakahare (squirrel), a name that was given to him by Kabogo during the campaigns allegedly because of some of his perceived unpleasant manners, is expected in court this morning and once he takes plea, he will have to leave office.
He may find himself becoming the first casualty of the ruling made on July 24 by Justice Mumbi Ngugi ordering governors charged with economic crimes to vacate office for the duration of their trial. This means Waititu will have to stay at home until he is cleared.
“Would it serve the public interest for him (a governor charged with graft) to go b-ack to office and preside over the finances of the county that he has been charged with embezzling from? What message does it send to the citizen if their leaders are charged with serious corruption offences, and are in office the following day, overseeing the affairs of the institution?” read Ngugi’s judgement in part.
To deepen his woes, Waititu and his wife risk losing a multi-million-shilling property in Nairobi being targeted by investigators for seizure as it is believed to have been purchased from proceeds of corruption. This comes even as crime busters continue digging for more graft claims which could see the disgraced governor face more charges.
Unearth mess
Besides the suspected Sh588 million graft, EACC is also investigating a controversial rehabilitation programme dubbed Kaa Sober, said to have gobbled up close to Sh1 billion without approval.
In May, a day before EACC detectives picked him up from his Kencom home, Kiambu County Assembly rushed and passed a supplementary budget in which it approved an expenditure of Sh722 million under the programme.
This was widely seen as a scheme to regularise the controversial expenditure in which millions of shillings are suspected to have been stolen through the programme which has been trashed by county leaders led by Senator Kimani Wamatangi and experts in alcohol rehabilitation.
EACC has been collecting information from villages to unearth the mess and Kiambu Assembly Majority Leader Gideon Gachara confirmed the sleuths had visited some wards in a fact-finding mission which could lead to another possible arrest.
Though the governor says he doesn’t like showing off, in recent times, he has been boasting of his riches and political experience as he tries to defend his wealth and trashing the ongoing probe.
“There are so many things that many do not know about me and the next time they should ask me to take them round so that they can see my wealth. I will show them and (when they see what I own) will commit suicide,” Waititu told mourners in Mburiria, in May.
Bad leadership
Beside the graft probe, Waititu’s political ship has also been going down and tables turned on him after unhappy ward reps replaced his allies in key leadership posts in the county assembly.
In what was previously unthinkable, Majority Leader Antony Ikonya, chief whip James Mburu and their deputies, who were his allies, were sacked over claims of conspiring with the governor and Speaker Stephen Ndicho to kill the independence of the assembly.
Ikonya was replaced with Gachara, one of the governor’s critics, in what only serves to deepen his political woes.
Waititu’s popularity is also plummeting, with the electorate angered by his alleged bad leadership, which they claim is taking President Uhuru Kenyatta’s home county to the dogs.
Already, the governor has begun experiencing heckling and pockets of protests.
Waititu’s run-ins with the EACC over corruption claimed its first victim, the Kiambu Principal Magistrate Bryan Khaemba, in June, when he resigned after being interdicted. Khaemba had issued Waititu with anticipatory bail of Sh500,000 under questionable circumstances.
For now, it seems for Waititu that when it rains, it pours.
