In a landmark ruling, former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption, becoming one of the highest-profile figures to be convicted under Kenya’s aggressive anti-corruption campaign.
The court found Waititu guilty of fraud and a conflict of interest related to the awarding of a 588 million Kenyan shilling (approximately $4.5 million) road construction contract.
Along with Waititu, his wife and three others were convicted. The former governor faces a hefty fine of $400,000 or an extended prison term. The ruling also bars all convicted individuals from holding public office for a decade.
The funds were intended to upgrade gravel roads in Kiambu, where Waititu was impeached in 2020.
In addition to the prison sentence, Chief Magistrate Thomas Nzioki imposed a fine of 53 million Kenyan shillings (around $400,000) on Waititu. Should he fail to pay, the sentence will stand.
Waititu and his co-defendants were also banned from holding public office for the next decade. His wife, found complicit, faces either a one-year prison term or a fine of 500,000 Kenyan shillings (approximately $3,869).
This verdict is only the second such high-profile conviction of a former governor for corruption in Kenya, where such cases are notorious for their prolonged legal delays, with many never resulting in jail time.
