By Andrew Kariuki
The High Court has directed that properties valued at Ksh76.2 million owned by former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu be surrendered to the State after determining that they amounted to unexplained wealth.
The court also ordered the recovery of a parcel of land valued at Ksh3 million registered in the name of Waititu’s wife.
In a decision delivered on Friday, Justice Nixon Sifuna partially upheld a civil recovery suit filed by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), which had sought to reclaim assets it said were acquired without lawful justification during Waititu’s tenure in public office.
The court found that the commission had successfully demonstrated that several properties linked to Waititu, including land and motor vehicles, lacked credible explanations as to their source of acquisition.
Justice Sifuna ruled that the assets met the legal threshold for unexplained wealth and should therefore be forfeited to the government.
However, the court rejected EACC’s bid to seize money held in bank accounts associated with Waititu, his spouse, and related entities.
The judge held that the commission failed to plead its case on the bank funds with sufficient precision and did not provide adequate evidence to justify forfeiture.
“I have not found sufficient material before this court to warrant forfeiture of the bank accounts,” Justice Sifuna stated, noting that while the unexplained assets were proven, the same standard was not met in relation to the funds.
Waititu and his wife had challenged the suit, maintaining that all the properties in question were lawfully acquired.
The EACC had initially sought recovery of assets estimated at up to Ksh1.9 billion, including interests linked to a trading firm associated with Waititu.
The court, however, limited the forfeiture to only those properties conclusively found to be unexplained.
