Ferdinand Waititu, the former governor of Kiambu, has been convicted of two offenses related to a lengthy Ksh588 million corruption case.
On Wednesday, Waititu and the co-defendants appeared before Chief Magistrate Thomas Nzioki at the Millimani Anti-Corruption Court, where they were convicted of multiple offenses, including a conflict of interest, granting tenders without County Assembly approval, and document forgery.
Waititu was convicted of conflict of interest and dealing with suspect property during the ruling.
“Concerning the offenses as charged, I find the defendants guilty as charged.” Chief Magistrate Nzioka made a ruling. Waititu faced accusations together with several others, including his wife Susan Wangari.
The Chief Magistrate’s ruling was based on 12 accounts, the majority of which he determined the former Governor and his co-accused were liable for subverting the law.
Count one, first accused person (Waititu) guilty, count two, first accused person and Saika Two Estate Developers Limited guilty, count three, first accused person and Saika Two Developers limited guilty,” read part of Nzioka’s ruling.
“Unavoidable conclusion: The first accused individual is viable in count number one for conflict of interest due to acquiring an indirect person of interest who accumulated a total of Ksh25 million.“
Although Chief Magistrate Nzioki ruled in September 2022 that the accused had a case to answer, he later acquitted Waititu, his wife, and other county officials of money laundering charges.
”Concerning the crime of money laundering, in accordance with section 311 of the Roman law as referenced with 16 and accounts 10, 11, and 13, I declare the accused individuals not guilty and acquit them based on section 215.”
Moreover, they faced charges of fraud, conflict of interest, dealing with suspect property, money laundering, and abuse of office due to the fraudulent awarding of tenders to a company owned by the Waititu family.
In the ruling, the Magistrate dismissed the former county chief’s earlier assertions that the case was driven by political motives.
He guaranteed to the accused that he had meticulously examined the documents provided by both the defense and prosecution and had found no indications of a political agenda.
