This archive report was first published on 28 July 2019.
On July 28, 2019, Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu was arrested by Detectives from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) after he surrendered himself at the Integrity house.
The arrest came after the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) ordered for his arrest over a 588 million shillings corruption scandal.
Waititu, his wife Susan Ndung'u, and 11 others are being accused of irregularly awarding tenders and embezzling Kiambu County funds.
His wife and five others are still being sought by the EACC.
The EACC had investigated the accused persons on allegations of irregular procurement of a tender for the upgrading of various gravel roads to Bituminous surface in Kiambu County, awarded to M/s Testimony Enterprises Ltd worth Ksh588,198,328.20 million during the financial year 2017/2018.
The investigating body alleged that the directors of M/s Testimony Enterprise Ltd, who were awarded the tenders, were close associates of Governor Waititu and had so far been irregularly paid Ksh147,274,005.39 in relation to the tender.
On July 17, 2019, the EACC submitted a report to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) on the result of investigations, recommending charging of 12 persons.
Upon review of the report and the recommendations therein, the DPP gave consent to immediately charge the suspects with various offences, including Conflict of interest, Dealing with suspect property, abuse of office, and money laundering.
“Having independently reviewed the evidence in the inquiry file and the report, I am satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to sustain charges against the suspects,” said DPP Nordin Hajji.
