Court fines Waititu Sh53.5m in Sh588m graft case
Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu is currently behind bars for corrupt business dealings during his tenure at the devolved unit.
This is after a court found him guilty of graft and fined him Sh53.5 million or 12 years in jail for receiving kickbacks from a contractor for a Sh588 million roads tender.
In the judgment delivered on Thursday, Mr Waititu has also been barred from holding public office.
In the same case, Mr Waititu's wife, Susan Wangari, has been fined Sh500,000 or serve one year in jail, while businessman Charles Chege has been fined Sh295m or serve 9 years in prison for fraudulent procurement of Sh588m road tender in Kiambu.
The sentence stemmed from a Sh588 million road construction tender issued by the County Government to Testimony Enterprises. The court found that they received benefits from the company and that the tender had been issued fraudulently and illegally.
Former Kiambu County Governor Ferdinand Waititu at the Milimani Law Court on February 13, 2025.
In the verdict rendered by Milimani Anti-corruption court Chief Magistrate Thomas Nzyoki, the court also ruled that Mr Waititu and his co-convicts should not hold any public office for ten years.
The magistrate said the sentence was intended to deter and protect the community from the loss occasioned by the convicts' fraudulent actions.
Their co-convicts — Engineer Luka Mwangi Wahinya (former Kiambu County Chief Officer for Roads and Transport) and business couple Charles Chege Mbuthia and Beth Wangechi — was also handed down different sentences for their involvement in the crime.
Engineer Mwangi was fined Sh21 million or in default serve seven years in prison for the offence of abuse of office in awarding the tender to an unqualified contractor.
Mr Chege was fined Sh295 million or serve nine years in prison for the offences of fraudulent acquisition of Sh147 million public funds and fraudulent practice in the procurement. His wife, Ms Wangechi, was fined Sh1.4 million or two years in prison for the same offences.