Anti-corruption Court on Thursday ruled that the former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu has a case to answer in the Ksh588 million corruption case.
The court ruled that the case in which the former governor was accused of embezzling millions should proceed to trial.
In his ruling, Milimani Chief Magistrate Thomas Nzyoki noted that the court determined that the prosecution established a prima facie case against the accused persons to warrant them to be placed on their defense.
The prosecution had closed the prosecution case by calling a total of thirty-two (32) witnesses and producing 741 exhibits in the case.
The ruling follows Waititu's attempt to stop the case after he filed a suit seeking the court to quash the charges against him and his wife Susan Wangari.
At the time, he argued that the charge sheet had not specified the charges they faced.
“We submit that placing the aforementioned accused persons on their defense will be tantamount to using them to prove the prosecution case which will be a miscarriage of justice,” noted Waititu in court filings in August.
The politician further defended himself, noting that the Office the Public Prosecutions (ODPP) that was prosecuting the case failed to prove that the money was proceeds of corruption.
“In the absence of a prima facie case, we submit that the only recourse available to the court is the accused persons’ acquittal. The accused persons ought not to be placed on their defence,” Waititu's argued.
The court has not set the date for hearing the case.
In the case, Waititu and five other beneficiaries among them Wangari, were accused of allegedly benefiting from tenders amounting to Ksh 588,198,328.
In particular, investigators from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) detail that the over Ksh588 million tender was awarded to a company the former governor owns through proxies.
Waititu, however, maintained that he was innocent in the case that kicked off in 2019, leading to his impeachment and subsequent ban from ever holding a public office.
The tender in question is said to have been issued in February 2018.
