A Nairobi-based businesswoman revealed yesterday how she sold a Nairobi hotel for Sh380 million to former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu four years ago.
Ms Rahab Mwihaki Karoki stated that she received Sh350 million in 2018 from Mr Waititu for the sale of Delta Hotel, a building on University Way in Nairobi.
She claimed that the former governor had yet to pay the full purchase price (Sh380 million) and that a debt of Sh29 million remained unpaid, despite the fact that ownership of the property had been transferred to him via a transfer form dated April 16, 2018.
The businesswoman testified in Mr Waititu’s graft case that she received the money through her bank account in 17 different transactions between April and September 2018.
Ms Karoki told Chief Magistrate Thomas Nzioki at a court in Milimani, Nairobi, that Mr Waititu still owes her Sh29 million.
When asked why she hadn’t written a demand letter for the debt, Ms Karoki responded, “We have discussed with Waititu’s family and agreed on how he will settle the balance.”
She claimed she received the payment from Mr Waititu’s company, Saika Two Estate Developers Limited, and a contractor, Testimony Enterprises Limited. Mr Charles Chege Mbuthia, the contractor, told her he was depositing the money as Mr Waititu’s agent, she testified.
“The owner of the company (Testimony) told me he was working for Waititu. Chege told me the payments were for the purchase of the hotel (Delta). I knew Chege and we were in the same building, Tusker House,” said Ms Karoki in her evidence.
When pressed by the defence to prove that the contractor was Mr. Waititu’s agent, the witness confirmed that there was no document or evidentiary proof of her claims.
She also noted that there was no indication that the money paid to her by Testimony was for the purchase of the Delta Hotel.
She also informed the court that she was doing business as Lake Naivasha Resort Ltd, which owned the Delta hotel.
The sale agreement was signed between Saika Two Estate Developers Limited, represented by Mr Waititu, and Superiorfone Communication Ltd, represented by Ms Karoki and Ms Winnie Kariiyu, according to the court. She stated during cross-examination that the sale agreement was not dated.
The witness stated that she is a hospitality businesswoman and the chairperson of Superior Hotels, which includes Masada Hotel, Lake Naivasha Resort, Hadassah Hotel, West Wood Hotel, Sweet Lake Resort, and Pearl Palace.
Ms Karoki testified as the 25th prosecution witness in Mr Waititu’s Sh588 million graft trial, alongside his wife Susan Wangari, trading companies, and county government procurement staff.
The corruption case is still being heard.
