By Kelly Were
The High Court has once again dismissed an application by former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu seeking release on bail as he awaits the outcome of his appeal in a high-profile Ksh 588 million corruption case.
In a ruling delivered Thursday, May 8, Justice Lucy Njuguna declared that the application lacked merit, reaffirming her earlier decision issued in March that similarly denied Waititu’s bid for bail.
“I am not persuaded and in respect to the present application and for the reasons this court has given, it holds a strong view that the application lacks merit and is hereby dismissed,” said Justice Njuguna during proceedings at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi.
Waititu, who has been in custody at Kamiti Maximum Prison, was convicted in February by Anti-Corruption Magistrate Thomas Nzioki. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison or a fine of Ksh 53 million after being found guilty of conflict of interest and profiting from a road construction tender while in office.
He was sentenced alongside his wife, Susan Waititu, and a contractor. The court fined Mrs. Waititu Ksh 500,000 or alternatively sentenced her to one year in prison for her role in the scandal.
Thursday’s ruling marks the second time in under two months that the court has denied bail to the embattled former governor. In March, Justice Njuguna rejected his request on grounds that his legal team had failed to demonstrate that his appeal had a strong likelihood of success. She also declined to consider arguments based on Waititu’s alleged ill health.
“It is my finding that the applicants have not met the conditions for bail. The applications are hereby dismissed,” she ruled at the time.
The sentencing followed a successful prosecution by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who argued that Waititu had abused his office and betrayed public trust in his role as county chief.
In her February judgment, Magistrate Nzioka condemned the former governor’s conduct as a blatant affront to the principles of good governance and accountability.
Waititu, who once held ambitions for higher office, now faces the reality of a lengthy incarceration unless his appeal yields a different outcome.
