Former Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu has been handed a huge reprieve after the court ordered that he forfeit Ksh131 million of his assets to the State.
The ruling, which came on Friday, December 19, will come as a huge relief for Waititu and his wife, Susan Ndung'u, who were initially poised to surrender properties worth over Ksh1.9 billion allegedly acquired fraudulently.
Among the assets the couple have been ordered to surrender are two plots of land estimated to be worth Ksh32 million.
Other assets the court has seized include a Caterpillar tractor used in construction valued at Ksh11 million and two cars worth Ksh600,000 each.
According to the court, Waititu and his partner are supposed to surrender the property because they did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that it was acquired through proper channels.
In his ruling, Justice Nixon Sifuna partially allowed a civil case filed by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), seeking the recovery of assets allegedly acquired illegally during Waititu’s tenure as governor.
The case against Waititu's assets dates back to 2022, when the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) filed a suit in the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division alleging the former county boss had more than Ksh1 billion in unexplained assets.
According to EACC, Waititu corruptly acquired the amount when he held state office as a Member of Parliament for Kabete Constituency between the years 2015 and 2017 and subsequently as a Governor of the County Government of Kiambu between the years 2017 and 2020.
Part of the way EACC believes Waititu acquired the properties was through proceeds of dubious procurement contracts to companies attached to Waititu and his wife.
However, on Friday, Justice Sifuna ruled that Waititu was only supposed to surrender a fraction of the assets, allegedly, because the EACC's allegations were not presented with sufficient clarity.
Further, the court found that the commission also failed to support the claims with solid evidence to enable a full seizure of all the assets.
In February, Waititu was sentenced to 12 years in prison or to pay a Ksh52.5 million fine after he was found guilty of conflict of interest in a Ksh588 million graft case.
