When the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission detectives raided the city home of former Devolution cabinet secretary Anne Waiguru, little did they know they would find a large and ostentatious collection of jewelry, property, shoes, clothes and other luxurious items the poor only dream of.
Like Imelda Marcos, the wife of former Philippines dictator, the late Ferdinand Marcos who spent her tenure as First Lady buying shoes, rare artwork, multi-million dollar properties and lots jewels, Waiguru’s house had luxurious items such as personal safe stuffed with freshwater pearls, a grocery-size cartoon of beaded turquoise necklaces, miniature standing trees carved out of semi-precious stones, hundreds of pieces of gold jewelry, designer shoes, golden watches, expensive gold earrings, hundreds of designer dresses and three shelves of designer purses. Most of the golden jewelry were presents given to her. She has a touch for jewelry which runs into millions of shillings.
A title deed for a land she purchased recently in Karen area was found together with a shares certificate worth millions she bought at Family Bank during the rights issue. Bank statements of various institutions together with those of her children were well kept in a strong room. Legal papers on various business deals were unearthed. The first hurdle the sleuths faced was how to get through the automated sliding electric gate. Luckily, the former CS, who was not in the house at the time of the raid, called her guards and directed them to open the gate for the sleuths to carry out their mission. The guards opened the remote controlled gate but there was another hurdle on how to go past the electronic controlled doors. However, the former CS had also directed the guards to ensure the sleuths accessed all the rooms in the house as they wished.
On entry at the dining hall, the detectives were mesmerised to find two sets of dining tables imported from United States. The one on the right had the inscription Hekman Rue de Bac Round Dining Table and is made of mahogany and select veneers with mahogany solids with gorgeous carved details which make elegant looking. The price is Sh330,480. The next table on the right had the inscription Hekman Castilian Dining Table. The table is stunning rustic dining table which has a gorgeous teak wood planked table top with hand carved teak details on the corners with a price of Sh461,955.
And to make the diners as comfortable as possible, the seats are made of mahogany and upholstered with slipcovers as a protective measure and comfort. The sleuths were further mesmerised by the carpet they were walking on in the living rooms, which was dyed and stain treated of any odour. It was shopped all the way from France. At the kitchen, they were further dumfounded when they came across the stainless steel cookware and cutlery made of aluminum and with three gold-plated spoons. There were also two customised fridges from abroad.
The toilets and their covers are in the class of their own.
At the bar in the dining hall, there was a collection of expensive wines and spirits, some dating back to 1930s. Top on the shelves were the elite wines such as Chateau Margaux, Chateau Latour and Chateau Lafite Rothschild. But perhaps it was her bedroom that exposed her lavish lifestyle where jewelry boxes littered the cabinet. The floors of the rooms were covered with valuable rugs from Turkey, China, Iran and India with Chinese silk prints gracing the walls.
Her bedroom contained two widescreen television sets, sophisticated exercise machines and even a two-foot-long, remote-controlled sex toy. The picture of lawyer Waiganjo well displaced at her bedside. Her giant size bed with powerful music system fitted is gold platted. Rhythm and blues CDs and flash disks well arranged were found. The bathroom was equipped with a 15-foot-square sunken bathtub, mirrored ceilings, gallon bottles of a custom-made French perfume and Italian bathrobes with the custom made curtains made of fabrics completing the show.
And since having a spat with Lillian Muli on her dressing, it appears from the inventory that Waiguru went out of the way to shop for the best and most expensive clothes. But from her wardrobe, it appears she had learnt her lesson going by the collection of clothes found. Famous for her resplendent dressing, the collection of clothes included some from Gianni Versace design house, which have received praise from celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Madonna.
When Waiguru moved to the luxurious Kihingo Village two years ago, it was the realisation of her pet dream of living large, having been raised up by her humble mother. She at one time stayed at Santak Estate opposite Jamhuri Showgrounds and in Kariobangi South with her mother. Those who schooled with her at Precious Blood Riruta, Moi Forces Academy where she left in 1989 and the University of Nairobi, opine that she has always desired to live large and would go to any length to realise her dream to make it come true. Her current residence, Kihingo Village, is a high end residential development similar to the gated community developments common in North America and South Africa. The project, which is unique to the Kenyan property market, sits on a site previously planted with 210,000 rose bushes.
Each house goes for over Sh150 million and has common features across all units such as family room (separate from main living room), all en suite with separate bath and showers, Jacuzzi in master bath suite, hydro shower in master bath suite, master bath suite with sinks and urinal, walk in wardrobes all rooms, video intercom access to gate, basic home security system integrated with perimeter security system and American style kitchens.
The houses also have separate laundry room, kitchen yard, terrace BBQ, study, mini bar, 2nd Tier Home Security System and five car internal garages. Kihingo Village, Kenya’s latest and most modern gated community development which is situated on the former Kihingo Estate in Kitisuru Nairobi was developed by Karuri Construction firm. The development is the brainchild of Tetu MP Ndung’u Gathenji, the chairman of parliament’s foreign affairs committee and was developed from a former coffee estate and flower farm belonging to Gathenji’s family.
For Waiguru, it is a dream come true to live in the posh estate, more so after separating with her husband, lawyer Tonny Waiguru Njuguna, son of a former Kigumo MP in Murang’a county. The couple, according to sources, met at a church in Kangemi after Waiguru cleared University of Nairobi. Though blessed with three sons, Ian, Don, and Wabu, the marriage did not last long with the lawyer filing for divorce case over irreconcilable differences. The photos of his son are well displaced in the main room. During the hearing of the petition to dissolve the marriage, one name featured prominently, that of former Foreign Affairs permanent secretary, Thuita Mwangi. He is said to have had an affair with the lady. After the dissolution of their marriage, the couple went separate ways with lawyer Waiguru turning to Christianity. The born-again lawyer lives in Thindigua, Kiambu where he runs a church. For Anne, her turning point in life was when she joined government after briefly working at Transparency International as an intern and research assistant before joining the Kenya Leadership Institute which has given birth to some of Kenya’s best economists who have shaped the country’s economy.
Aside from the graft claims the former CS is also fighting reports in the social media that she plans to wed prominent lawyer Kamotho Waiganjo. Though the reports have been in circulation for almost two years, none of them has ever denied them.
Recently her son, Ian denied claims that he had bought a Sh40 million luxury car. “Just to clear up something for people; no, I do not own an Aston Martin. I have however driven one belonging to a good friend that lend me,” he posted on his Twitter account.
The 19-year-old went on to explain that the car does not belong to anyone in his family but he would wish to own one if he could. But our investigations reveal that the car was given to Ian as a reward by a top government official. During the raid, the luxurious car was among 15 others. The recovery of large sums of money both in local currency and US dollars and two bank safe deposit boxes with unknown amount of cash in the house has exposed the cover-up in a bid to save her over the lost Sh971 million.
Indeed, it was the Director of Public Prosecutions KeriakoTobiko who blew the whistle when he poked holes into an investigation report on the scandal conducted by the Directorate of Criminal Investigation, citing multiple government agencies and people who ought to have been questioned by the investigators.
Tobiko invited a multi-faceted team including officials of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Central Bank of Kenya, the Financial Reporting centre and the Kenya Revenue Authority to unearth scandal.
He faulted the DCI investigation as limited and only concerned with offences under the Penal Code.
It has since emerged that four of the companies were linked to individuals with political connections — including a nominated senator, the daughter of a senior politician in the ruling coalition, a brother of a senior consultant engaged to reform the youth service, a senior officer in the Devolution ministry and an ODM politician.