High Court orders ex-governor Waititu to forfeit assets worth Ksh.76.2M to government

The High Court has ordered the Government to seize assets worth Ksh.76.2 million allegedly owned by former Kiambu County Governor Ferdinand Waititu.

In addition, two plots of land worth Ksh.32 million and one plot of land owned by his wife, Susan Ndung'u, have also been ordered to be returned to the Government.

This is after the court found that Waititu and his wife failed to sufficiently explain the source of the assets.

Waititu and his wife opposed the case insisting that the assets were acquired legally through proceeds of loans and businesses before he became governor.

Alongside the two parcels of land other movable assets were, a Caterpillar valued at Ksh.11 million and two cars worth Ksh.600,000 each.

In his ruling, Justice Nixon Sifuna partially allowed a civil case filed by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), seeking the recovery of assets allegedly acquired illegally during Waititu’s tenure as governor.

EACC was seeking the return of assets worth Ksh.1.9 billion, although the court allowed the confiscation of only a few assets that were found to lack satisfactory explanations about their source.

The court therefore rejected the EACC’s application to confiscate funds held in various bank accounts linked to Waititu, his wife and their companies.

Justice Sifuna explained that the commission’s allegations regarding the accounts were not presented with sufficient clarity or supported by solid evidence.

The ex-governor was found guilty in February 2025 of conflict of interest in a Ksh.588 million graft case. 

He  was sentenced to 12 years in prison or pay a Ksh.52.5million fine and was charged alongside his wife, Susan Ndung'u, who was sentenced to one year in prison or a Ksh.500,000 fine.