Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu has been fined Ksh21 million in additional penalties over the Ksh588.7 million road tender corruption scandal, with the court ordering him to serve a five-year jail term in default of payment.
The penalties were imposed on three money laundering counts linked to funds investigators said were channelled through companies associated with Waititu and his co-accused.
According to the sentencing proceedings, Waititu was fined Ksh10 million on Count 10, with five years’ imprisonment in default of payment.
He was further fined Ksh6 million on Count 11, with four years’ imprisonment in default, and Ksh5 million on Count 12, with an additional four-year default sentence.
The fines bring his total financial penalty on the three counts to Ksh21 million.
The court directed that the money laundering sentences run concurrently in accordance with earlier directions issued by the High Court, meaning the longest default sentence is five years.
Waititu is already serving a 12-year prison sentence following his conviction in the corruption case.
Other individuals and companies convicted alongside the former governor were also handed financial penalties.
Saika Two Estate Developers Limited was fined Ksh16 million on Count 10 and Ksh8 million on Count 12, while Bienvenue Delta Hotel, associated with Waititu and his wife, Susan Wangari Ndung’u, was fined Ksh2 million on Count 11.
Charles Chege Mbuthia, a director of Testimony Enterprises Limited, was fined Ksh10 million on Count 10 and Ksh6 million on Count 11, with imprisonment terms imposed in default of payment.
Beth Wangechi Mburu was fined Ksh2 million on each of the three counts for which she was sentenced.
Testimony Enterprises Limited, the company awarded the road construction contract, was fined Ksh16 million on Count 10, Ksh12 million on Count 11 and Ksh8 million on Count 12.
The court ordered the corporate accused persons to settle their respective fines within 14 days, warning that failure to comply would attract the consequences provided under the law.
The case revolves around a KSh588.7 million contract awarded by the Kiambu County Government to Testimony Enterprises Limited for upgrading gravel roads to bituminous standards across several sub-counties.
Investigators established that the tender was irregularly awarded and that proceeds from the contract were transferred to businesses linked to the accused persons.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) previously reported that more than KSh25.6 million was channelled through Saika Two Estate Developers Limited, while Ksh7.214 million was received through Bienvenue Delta Hotel.
The latest sentences follow a High Court decision that overturned earlier acquittals on the money laundering charges and entered convictions against the accused persons.
