By Mercy Imali
A raid conducted on Thursday by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission on the homes and offices of Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu found evidence linking him to Sh588 million county cash.
EACC chief executive officer, Twalib Mbarak said they found evidence linking Waititu to Sh588m irregular tenders, fraudulent acquisition of public funds, conflict of interest and money laundering.
The Governor is accused of awarding tenders to companies associated with him and his immediate family members in which the millions were syphoned from public coffers.
“Preliminary investigations show that contractors paid monies to senior county officials, their companies or relatives through proxies,” EACC chief executive officer Twalib Mbarak said in a statement.
The county boss had last week bragged that Kenyans would “run mad or commit suicide” if they knew his massive wealth.
Early this month the governor found himself on the spot after his county was found to be among 10 others with bizarre budget items including State House Affairs and South Sudan peace initiatives.
However, the auditor general Edward Ouko later cleared the counties saying the audit queries flagged by the Senate committee were an issue of “bad reporting”.
In the two years he has been in office as Kiambu governor, Waititu is alleged to have bought multi-billion buildings in Nairobi’s Central Business District among other properties.
Questions have persisted over the source of his billions yet it has been barely two years since he assumed office after the 2017 general elections.
But Waititu also known as Baba Yao confirmed in an interview last year that he bought the two buildings using proceeds from the sale of his two petrol stations along Kangundo road.
“I topped up the amount from the sale with a bank loan. I am a Kenyan with access to loan facilities. Which law bars me from taking a loan and buying property in the city?” he asked in an interview last year.
It is claimed the value of the two buildings is close to Sh2 billion, with Delta Hotel costing Sh800 million while Jamii Bora is valued at about Sh1 billion.
The governor’s daughter Monica Njeri, a doctor at Kenyatta National Hospital, is a person of interest amid reports that millions of shillings were wired through her bank accounts.