Activist challenges Ferdinand Waititu's appointment to Nairobi River's Commission
President William Ruto with former Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu.
An activist has moved to court to challenge President William Ruto’s decision to appoint former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu to the Nairobi Rivers Commission over integrity concerns.
Mr Peter Odhiambo Agoro wants the court to quash the President’s decision and declare that Mr Waititu is unfit to serve in the commission for failing to satisfy moral and ethical requirements.
Citing a pending court case where Mr Waititu is being prosecuted alongside others over graft, the activist claims that the politician lacks integrity and competence to hold the post as demanded by the Constitution.
He has also based his petition on Mr Waititu’s impeachment from the office of governor Kiambu for gross violation of the Constitution and abuse of a public office.
Mr Waititu was impeached in January 2020 and lost subsequent court battles to reverse the decision.
“Mr Waititu is currently facing graft charges related to abuse of office, conflict of interest and dealing with suspect property. Courts have (previously) ruled that a person impeached through a political process is permanently barred from holding public office,” says Mr Agoro.
The pending graft case involves Sh588 million road construction contracts awarded to a contractor by the Kiambu County government during Mr Waititu’s tenure.
The activist further cites a Sh1.94 billion forfeiture suit lodged by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) against Mr Waititu, his wife Susan Wangari and their trading companies.
In that case, EACC is seeking to recover properties and money in bank accounts totalling Sh1,937,709,376 on the basis that they are unexplained wealth amassed by Mr Waititu and his relatives illegally.
However, they have since defended the wealth saying it is legitimate and was acquired from their business ventures.
“It was malicious and scandalous for the EACC to link my husband and me to unexplained wealth for political reasons and to imply that we received money unprocedurally and unlawfully from public institutions,” Ms Wangari said recently in court papers.
The activist argues that a person facing a corruption case cannot hold public office until cleared by the court.
“The petition discloses overwhelming grounds for disqualifying Mr Waititu from assuming office for failing to satisfy moral and ethical requirements prescribed by the Constitution, the Public Officer Ethics Act, EACC Act and the Leadership and Integrity Regulations 2015,” says Mr Agoro.
Mr Waititu having been impeached from office, the activist says, cannot hold a post in a public entity.
He wants the court to declare that Mr Waititu engaged in unethical practices amounting to gross violation of the Constitution and has been rendered incapable of holding a public office.
Integrity laws
In addition, he is seeking an order compelling EACC to ensure strict adherence to the integrity laws.
He has sued Mr Waititu together with the EACC and the Attorney-General, respectively. The Nairobi River Commission is listed as an interested party to the suit.
The three respondents together with the Commission are yet to file their responses to the suit.
According to directions issued by Justice Mugure Thande, the responses should be filed before January 30, 2023 while the case is scheduled for mention on February 27, 2023.
President Ruto announced the appointment of Mr Waititu to the Nairobi Rivers Commission through a Gazette Notice dated December 2, 2022.
The Commission has been tasked to “Reclaim the rivers of Nairobi as a spine to the city's blue and green infrastructure for a better urban environment and quality of life.
The commission will also examine previous reports and recommendations made to reclaim the Nairobi River and adopt lessons learnt in the new initiative.
Member of the Commission will hold office for a term of three years renewable once based on performance.
Other roles of the commission include coordinating activities of various players mandated to engage in the rehabilitation, protection, restoration, beautification and sustainable development of the riverine basin within Nairobi City County.
The team will also monitor compliance with the laws and regulations governing the environment of the Basin and its catchment areas as well as develop codes of conduct.
Additionally, it will propose modalities for enforcement in partnership with the relevant stakeholders.
According to the Gazette Notice, the Commission is drawing finances from the National Government, the Nairobi City County Government and donations.
