This archive report was first published on 27 July 2019.
On July 27, 2019, the Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji ordered the arrest and prosecution of Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu and 12 other county employees over alleged graft.
The county officials will face charges of irregular award of tenders worth Sh588 million and embezzlement of public funds, according to DPP Haji.
Others to be arrested include Governor Waititu's wife Susan Wangari Ndung'u, director of Bienvenue Delta Hotel, and several other county officials.
The arrest order comes after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) tabled damning evidence that Governor Waititu allegedly used money from kickbacks to partly pay for a hotel he bought in Nairobi's University Way.
A trail of bank transfers revealed that the company that sold Waititu the Delta Hotel received Sh6 million from a road contractor who was awarded the tender under alleged influence of the Governor.
Questions were raised over the source of the money that the governor used to pay for the hotel, but he explained that he sold two petrol stations and topped it up with a bank loan.
However, the EACC maintains that the governor received Sh25.6 million, alleged to be kickbacks out of the Sh221.4 million the county paid to the contractor, known as Testimony Enterprises Limited.
