Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu was sentenced to prison on Monday, November 2, after an Anti-Corruption Court found him guilty in a corruption case linked to the irregular award of a Ksh588.7 million road tender during his tenure in the county government.
The sentencing, delivered by Chief Magistrate Harrison Barasa at the Anti-Corruption Court in Nairobi, marked the latest chapter in one of Kenya’s most closely watched anti-graft cases involving a former county chief.
Court Imposes Sentence on Waititu and Co-Accused
In his ruling, Magistrate Barasa sentenced Waititu after convicting him on charges arising from the controversial procurement of a roads tender awarded by Kiambu County.
The court also sentenced Waititu’s co-accused, including his wife Susan Wangari Ndung’u and other individuals linked to the case.
On Count 10, Chief Magistrate Harrison Barasa fined Waititu Ksh10 million, with the alternative of imprisonment for 5 years should he fail to pay the amount.
On Count 11, the court fined Waititu Ksh6 million or, in default, serve four years in prison.
On Count 12, the court imposed a fine of Sh5 million or, in default, four years’ imprisonment.
The Tender At The Centre
The Kiambu County Government awarded Testimony Enterprises Limited a contract worth roughly Sh588 million to upgrade gravel roads to bitumen standards in Thika, Limuru, Gatundu North, Juja and Ruiru during the 2017/2018 financial year.
EACC began investigating in 2019 after allegations that the award was irregular.
The trial court found Waititu had manipulated the tender evaluation by unlawfully stripping out critical requirements, disadvantaging four other bidders to favour a company that lacked the capacity to execute the works.
Money then moved from Testimony to entities tied to the governor.
Prosecutors proved Ksh25,624,500 reached Waititu through Saika Two Estate Developers Limited, and Ksh7,214,000 reached his wife through Bienvenue Delta Hotel.
Court records put the total kickback figure at Ksh25.9 million, split Ksh18.4 million to Saika Two and Ksh7.2 million to Bienvenue Delta.
A bank witness testified that Saika used the proceeds to buy Bienvenue Delta Hotel for Ksh380 million on University Way, Nairobi, paying Lake Naivasha Resort Ltd.
Earlier versions of the charge sheet also named Zacharia Njenga Mbugua, Joyce Ngina Musyoka, Simon Kabocho Kang’ethe, Anselm Gachukia Wanjiku and Samuel Mungai Mugo, and referenced Connex Logistics Africa, another company associated with Susan.
Waititu’s Parallel Money Cases
Beyond the criminal file, the EACC has run two financial tracks.
In the unexplained-wealth suit filed in May 2022, the commission targeted about Ksh1.94 billion in property allegedly accumulated between 2015 and 2020.
On 19 December 2025 the High Court ordered forfeiture of only about Ksh131.2 million, two Thindigua parcels worth Ksh64 million, a Caterpillar machine at Ksh11 million, two vehicles, Susan’s Ksh3 million Kitengela plot, and Saika’s Solar House at Ksh52 million, while criticising the EACC for citing cumulative bank deposits without transaction analysis.
Separately, the EACC is pursuing a civil recovery of about Ksh170 million from Waititu and Testimony Enterprises as alleged proceeds of corruption, still pending.
Waititu was assistant minister for Water under President Mwai Kibaki before entering elective politics.
He won the Embakasi by-election in 2008 after MP Mugabe Were was shot dead, and the Kabete by-election in February 2015 after MP George Muchai was assassinated.
He lost the 2013 Nairobi governor race to Evans Kidero, then won Kiambu in 2017 and took the nickname “Baba Yao.”
On December 19, 2019, the Kiambu County Assembly impeached him over the Ksh588 million tender kickbacks, including allegations that he used friends and family to launder proceeds of crime.
The courts upheld the impeachment, ending his planned 2022 Nairobi campaign.
In a 2023 interview he said President William Ruto no longer takes his calls, and that friends who offered to bail him out withdrew after threats from detectives.
Follow our WhatsApp Channel and X Account for real-time news updates and our YouTube Channel for in-depth interviews.
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.