Kiambu Governor, Ferdinand Waititu, who was recently arrested over graft charges is set for more woes.
The Kiambu governor and his wife, Susan Wangari, were charged for allegedly enriching themselves using fraudulent county roads tender.
More to that, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is now investigating Waititu over possible theft and misuse of nearly Ksh1 billion, through the Kaa Sober project.
According to some members of the Kiambu County Assembly, the project was never approved by the county representatives.
The project is said to have gobbled up at least Ksh2 million on daily basis, and investigators are probing a theory that it could have been an avenue for theft.
On Tuesday, EACC spokesman Yassin Amaro confirmed to K24 Digital that investigations on the project were almost complete, noting that Waititu and other county officials linked to the scam would start appearing before the commission.
“We (EACC) have been investigating the matter (Kaa Sober) and several people have been summoned. According to the investigating officers, they are finalising (their investigations) on the matter,” Amaro stated.
The project was started in February 2018 and the beneficiaries, who according to the governor were 6,500, were paid Ksh 400 daily for doing menial jobs usually assigned to county staff.
However, Kiambu Senator, Kimani Wamatangi, and Woman Representative, Gathoni Wa Muchamba, doubted the number, arguing that the figure was exaggerated to facilitate fraud, especially after the governor kept changing the numbers.
On May 11, 2018, Waititu, in his state of the county address, placed the number at 4,000. 13 days later, during a function officiated by First Lady Margaret Kenyatta at Githunguri, he raised it to 5,000, a number later revised upwards to 6, 500, putting the cost as Ksh2.5 million per day.
Payments were made every evening either through ward representatives or selected administrators, who would collect cash from the county office and then hand it to beneficiaries.
No documents nor receipts were given to the beneficiaries to confirm receipt of the cash.
In January 2019, the governor terminated the programme in a ceremony that cost the taxpayer a questionable Ksh104 million sendoff package, with each recipient getting a sendoff package of Ksh 20,000.
EACC detectives have been visiting the wards in Kiambu to collect information as they seek to unravel the scandal.
