DPP wants Waititu, wife jailed over Sh588m fraud

 

When Ferdinand Waititu, then Kiambu Governor was arrested by EACC officials over corruption allegations. [File, Standard]

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga has urged the Anti-Corruption Court to convict former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu and his wife Susan Wangari Ndungu for the misappropriation of Sh588 million belonging to Kiambu County.

The case centres around the alleged fraudulent awarding of a multi-million-shilling contract for road upgrades within county during Waititu’s reign as governor. 

Ingonga said the tender process was tainted by corruption, with the couple and and three others, some of whom were county officials allegedly using their positions to award the contract to their close associates through illegal means.  

Waititu, his wife, former Kiambu Transport Chief Officer Luka Mwangi Wahinya, businessman Charles Chege Mbuthia, and two companies: Testimony Enterprises Limited and Saika Two Estate Developers Limited, are facing charges of theft, corruption, money laundering, and abuse of office in relation to the Sh588,198,328 tender awarded in February 2018.

 Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu and his wife Susan Wangari at a Milimani court during the mention of a corruption case facing them. [File, Standard]

The tender, intended for the upgrading of roads to bituminous standards, was controversially awarded to Testimony Enterprises, a company said to have been improperly selected for the contract. 

In the final submissions filed in court, Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Vincent Monda, representing the DPP, emphasised that the prosecution had presented compelling evidence to support the charges. 

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 “We urge the court to find that the prosecution has presented overwhelming evidence to prove all the charges against Waititu, his wife and the co-accused, warranting a conviction,” Monda said.

Over the course of the trial, 32 witnesses testified and 129 exhibits were submitted to establish the involvement of the accused in the corrupt scheme.

A key element of the case is the role of Wahinya, the Transport Chief Officer, who is alleged to have improperly awarded the tender. 

It is further claimed that during this period, Waititu, as the Kiambu County Governor, had acquired an indirect private interest in the tender process. 

Specifically, Waititu and his wife are accused of receiving Sh25 million from Testimony Enterprises through their company, Saika Two Estate Developers Limited.

Magistrate Nzyoki has fixed February 11, 2025, as the judgment date.