Ferdinard Waititu, his wife Susan have case to answer in Sh588m graft case
Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu and his wife Susan Wangari Ndung’u in a Nairobi Court on September 27, 2019, when they appeared for pre-trial of a case where, alongside eight others, they are charged with Sh588 million irregular road construction tender scam.
Former Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu, his wife Susan Wangari and their co-accused have a case to answer in the Sh588 million road tender saga.
In a brief ruling, Milimani Anti-Corruption Chief Magistrate Thomas Nzyoki said the 32 prosecution witnesses had directly implicated Mr Waititu, his wife and companies linked to him in the road tender scandal.
In his ruling, Mr Nzyoki told the accused that he was not required by law at this stage to go into detail about the evidence presented to him by the prosecution.
However, he said a cursory review of the evidence pointed to the accused persons' involvement in the multi-million toad tender construction.
The magistrate said the prosecution had proved the case against the accused beyond reasonable doubt to warrant their defence.
" Having considered the evidence on record and the submissions of all parties in terms of section 306 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), I have come to the conclusion that the prosecution has established a prima facie case against Waititu, his wife and their co-accused on counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12," Magistrate Nzyoki ruled.
The magistrate then asked the accused to state how they intend to defend themselves.
Mr Waititu, his wife and their two companies, through lawyer John Swaka, informed the court that they would be entering their defence on oath from March 19, 2024.
The former governor and his wife Wangari had urged the court to acquit them, saying the case against them was politically motivated as he had fallen out with the former Jubilee government of outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Waititu was arraigned on July 19, 2019 on charges of fraud, conflict of interest, dealing in suspicious property, money laundering and abuse of office.
Saika Two Estate Developers Limited, a company owned by Mr Waititu and his wife Wangari, allegedly received more than Sh25 million from Testimony Enterprises Limited Contractor, a company contracted by the county government to develop roads through an irregular tender process.
In this case, Mr Waititu, along with his wife and companion, was charged with running the Bienvenue Delta Hotel, which they co-founded.
It is alleged that between October 3, 2018 and January 2019, the two owners of the said company jointly received Sh7.2 million from testimonial companies while having reason to believe that the said amount was obtained from Kiambu County through corrupt conduct.
The two are joined by eight others Luka Mwangi, Charles Chege, Beth Wangechi, Zacharia njenga, Joyce Ngina, Simon Kabocho, Anselem gachukia, Samuel Muigai, Testimony enterprises limited, Saika two estate developers limited and Delta hotel.
