Former Kiambu governor, Ferdinand Waititu Babayao, has been denied access to his businesses, houses, parcels of land and seven vehicles.
The High Court on Tuesday, May 31, froze the properties located in Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD), Kiambu, Kajiado and Machakos counties, as investigations into his alleged embezzlement of nearly Ksh2 billion continue.
“An order of injunction is hereby issued restraining the defendants, their people or agents from selling, transferring or dealing in any way with the listed properties pending the hearing and determination of the suit,” High Court Judge, Esther Maina, ruled.
Waititu was accused of illegally acquiring the property while serving as Kimabu governor prior to his impeachment in January 2020
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) claimed that Waititu, in an attempt to outsmart relevant investigative agencies, registered the properties in his wife’s, daughter’s name and proxy companies.
EACC traced Ksh805 million in his accounts and Ksh276 million in his wife’s accounts.
Through its lawyers, the agency questioned how Waititu took only five years to build a multi-billion empire with a net worth of Ksh2 billion.
"Investigations established that Ferdinand Ndungu Waititu ‘Babayao’ abused his position of trust as a Member of Parliament – Kabete Constituency and later as Governor – Kiambu County, for private gain by engaging in transactions which were in conflict with the public interest and amassed wealth that was disproportionate to his known legitimate sources of income,” EACC argued.
EACC filed the suit at the High Court on Friday, May 27.
“This is part of ongoing recovery of public funds from several governors suspected to have accumulated illicit wealth,” EACC wrote in court documents.
Waititu, who wanted to run for the Kiambu gubernatorial seat in August, was among politicians flagged by EACC, the Assets Recovery Authority (ARA) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution.
The former governor lost the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party nominations to Kiambu Senator, Paul Kimani Wamatangi. Waititu committed to support Wamatangi and Deputy President William Ruto in their respective bids.
Considerations to run as an independent candidate were hampered when Chief Justice, Martha Koome, advised the courts that an impeached leader cannot run for office until they exhaust all avenues of appeal and only if the impeachment is overturned.
“It’s a legal conundrum. On one hand, we have a case where a particular MP who was found guilty by a competent court and sentenced then appealed is [allowed to run] yet when it comes to people who’ve been impeached, it doesn’t seem to apply because if you’re impeached you’re permanently impeached even if you have a case in court you’re still impeached,” she asserted.
