This archive report was first published on 27 July 2019.
July 27, 2019
Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu has been linked to a Sh588 million graft scandal in Kiambu County. The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested three county officials, Joyce Ng'ina Musyoka, Simon Kabocho Kang'ethe, and Charles Chege Mbuthia, over alleged embezzlement of public funds.
According to the Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji, the county officials will face charges of irregular award of tenders worth Sh588 million and embezzlement of public funds. This comes after EACC tabled damning evidence that Governor Waititu allegedly used money from kickbacks to partly buy a hotel on Nairobi's University Way.
A trail of bank transfers revealed that the company that sold the hotel, Lake Naivasha Resort, received Sh6 million from a road contractor who was awarded the tender under alleged influence of the governor. Governor Waititu had earlier told the media that the hotel cost him hundreds of millions, but it is unclear where he obtained the funds.
Waititu also bought another prime building located at the intersection of Biashara Street and Koinange Street, worth hundreds of millions. Questions were raised over the source of the money used to pay for the two buildings, but Governor Waititu explained that he sold two petrol stations along Kangundo Road in Nairobi and topped it up with a bank loan.
