The former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu alia Baba lao has asked Milimani Anti-Corruption Magistrate Thomas Nzyoki to acquit him in his Ksh 588 million graft case.
Mr. Waititu in his defense said that his arrest and subsequent prosecution was engineered by the former government due to his overwhelming support to President Ruto in his succession politics when he was the Deputy President.
Waititu said that the notion by the prosecution that he illegally sought money when he was a governor is a wrong misconception because he has had tender for garbage collection in Nairobi which he got in 1999.
The former Kiambu boss went on to say that he transferred the money he got from his tender to other dumpsites which were in operational for over 10 years before he became a Governor.
“When politics of Tanga Tanga started I was one of the main proponents in Kiambu and I supported the Deputy President at the time, now the President of Kenya, as a result, the then government decided to engineer my arrest and charges so that they can keep me out of office.” Said Waititu in his defense.
According to Waititu, the move by the former regime to evict him from office was indeed successful because immediately he was arraigne in Court one of the conditions for his release was that he should stay out office.
He said that Immediately he was barred from office an impeachment motion was tabled at the Count assembly and it went through although there was no quorum in the Assembly.
Further, he said that when the case escalated to Senate money exchanged hands and it appeared like his fate was sealed because the Senators immediately confirmed his Impeachment.
In the case, Waititu, his wife Susan Wangari and the companies associated to the two were found to have a case to answer in the Ksh 588 million road tender fraud.
In a ruling delivered by Chief Magistrate Thomas Nzyoki in 2023, the Magistrate said that the 32 prosecution witnesses directly linked Waititu and his wife to the scandal.
Waititu was arraigned in Court on July 19, 2019 facing charges of fraud, conflict of Interest, money laundering and abuse of office.
The case has been pending in Court since then.
The case proceeds in Court.
