This archive report was first published on 7 August 2019.
On August 7, 2019, Kiambu residents celebrated the incarceration of Governor Ferdinand Waititu over alleged corruption charges. The news sparked widespread jubilation, with many bars along Kiambu Road filled to capacity as unpaid suppliers and contractors at the county government celebrated the governor's woes.
According to sources, one of the contractors spent a whopping Sh1 million buying drinks for revelers at a popular bar. The celebration was a testament to the deep-seated resentment among suppliers and contractors who felt that Waititu had embezzled money meant for the region's development.
Waititu's troubles began when he fell out with six finance officers, forcing them to abruptly resign. The officers, including Faith Njeru, who served as chief finance officer, cited disagreement with the governor over payments of millions of shillings to contractors. The governor had reshuffled top officers, prompting the resignations, amid claims that he had a preferred list of companies he wanted paid first.
Speaking to the press, Faith Njeru said that they could not agree with what the governor wanted since there were several suppliers who did business with the county government in 2014, 2015, and 2016, but were yet to be paid. The governor's actions had led to a backlog of Sh900 million in pending bills.
Investigations had established that about Sh200 million had been paid out to personal accounts of accountants in the county, with unsatisfactory explanations offered as reasons for the bank transfers. Waititu had vowed not to pay contractors who supplied goods in his predecessor William Kabogo's government, instead drawing a list of those to be paid.
Revelers in nearly all the bars in Kiambu town broke into song and dance when the arrest of Waititu was announced. They accused the governor of embezzling money meant for the region's development through the infamous Kaa Sober programme of rehabilitating alcoholics.
