Waititu loses bid to overturn law barring corruption convicts from office

Waititu loses bid to overturn law barring corruption convicts from office

Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu has suffered a setback after the High Court rejected his challenge to a law barring people convicted of corruption and economic crimes from holding public office for 10 years.

The court dismissed a petition challenging Section 64 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, ruling that the petitioners had failed to provide sufficient grounds to invalidate the provision.

Justice Roselyne Aburili delivered the judgment on behalf of Justice Chacha Mwita, finding that the petitioners had not demonstrated that the law was unconstitutional.

“The petitioners did not demonstrate why the section is unlawful,” the court stated.

Waititu and his co-petitioners had challenged the provision, arguing that it unlawfully restricts their eligibility to hold public office despite the constitutional framework governing leadership and integrity.

The case also questioned the legality of prison sentences imposed on the petitioners as alternatives to paying fines following their convictions in the Sh588 million Kiambu County corruption case.

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The corruption case arose from the irregular award of a road construction tender to Testimony Enterprises Limited during Waititu’s tenure as governor.

Waititu was fined Sh53.5 million, with a 12-year prison term in default of payment. Former Kiambu County roads chief officer Luka Mwangi Wahinya was fined Sh21 million or seven years in prison.

Businessman Charles Chege Mbuthia, a director of Testimony Enterprises Limited, was fined Sh295 million, with a nine-year prison term as an alternative.

The petitioners argued that the default prison terms exceeded the limits set under Section 28(2) of the Penal Code. They sought to challenge the sentences on constitutional grounds, questioning whether the punishment imposed complied with the law.

Their challenge also targeted the 10-year restriction on holding public office, which gives effect to constitutional requirements on integrity and suitability for leadership.

However, the court found no sufficient basis to strike down the contested provision, leaving the legal restriction intact.

The ruling is a blow to Waititu and the other petitioners, who had sought to overturn the law that bars corruption convicts from seeking or holding public office for a decade.

The decision reinforces the legal consequences attached to corruption convictions, particularly for individuals seeking to return to public leadership.