State to recover Waititu assets as Uhuru ignores phone calls – Weekly Citizen

Desperate Waititu

Besieged Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu is set to face additional criminal charges as his attempts to reach out to Uhuru Kenyatta to bail him out hit a dead end.
Since his arrest by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the governor has called the president over five times but the head of state has not picked his calls nor bothered to even send a text message.
The Asset Recovery Authority is also profiling Waititu multibillions investments and will move to court to be placed under a caveat.
According to sources, Uhuru has ordered his security detail to ensure the governor does not come near him until the case he is facing is concluded.
Waititu, the sources added, tried to persuade Uhuru’s mother, Mama Ngina Kenyatta to talk to the president to drop the case he is facing.

Uhuru and Mama Ngina

However, Mama Ngina advised him to hire the best lawyers, saying the president has no powers to terminate a criminal case facing any Kenyan.
The sources added that the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji decided to drop the case that was facing Waititu’s daughter, Monica after the sleuths grilled her.
They established that she was not aware of the large amount of money deposited in her account and further she had not done any withdrawal.
Sources added that the detectives have now completed investigations on the Sh1 billion Kaa Sober programme and recommended the governor’s prosecution.
The Kaa Sober initiative was the brainchild of the governor to rehabilitate alcoholics.
Between July and December 2018, the Kiambu county government spent over Sh356 million to finance operations of the controversial rehabilitation programme.
The programme was taking up Sh2 million per day without the approval of the county assembly.
EACC has quietly grilled top officials in the Waititu administration, compounding trouble for the governor already being tried for Sh588 million corruption case.
They have also visited several wards in Kiambu, focusing on the number of beneficiaries.
A second charge could be a political knockout for Waititu, a key political pillar in Central Kenya of William Ruto.
He has already been barred from accessing his office by the court.
Waititu has been grappling with allegations of massive looting in his county and using the said spoils to spruce up his lifestyle, mostly through acquisition of properties, including hotels.
The EACC money trail, for instance, shows that part of the Sh221.5 million already paid out in the irregular Sh588 million tender was deposited in accounts registered under the governor’s businesses.
Insiders add that detectives have also completed investigations on how the cash collected daily by the county government is misappropriated.
There are claims that over Sh800 million cannot be accounted for, which further complicates matters for the embattled governor.
After the court barred him from accessing his office, Waititu shifted base to his Nairobi office along Nairobi’s Koinange Street, in a building he owns. He has also been meeting supporters at Delta Hotel, which he bought from suspected proceeds from the illegal payments.
The county boss is of the view that his executive powers allow him to operate from anywhere, rubbishing claims of trying to sabotage his deputy James Nyoro who has since announced taking over the county’s leadership.
Back in Kiambu, the county cabinet is said to be split between the two leaders, one side being the pro-Waititu faction while the remaining is allied to Nyoro.
Before the court slapped him with a ban, Waititu was taken aback when the chairman of the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation Simon Gicharu rejected his appointment to head a committee on pending bills.
Waititu, through his finance executive committee member Francis Njenga, had published in the Kenya Gazette names of officials who would sit in the body to help clear a backlog of bills, some inherited from the administration of former governor William Kabogo.
But Gicharu said he was never consulted by the governor or his government before his appointment.

Kiambu Woman Rep Gathoni wa Muchomba

Kiambu woman representative Gathoni Wa Muchomba has filed a complaint with the National Land Commission regarding land deals by Del Monte.
Wa Muchomba in a letter to the commission is demanding a report explaining how the deal between the juice maker and the county government was arrived at and the actual number of acreage surrendered.
In the deal, the county government renewed lease of 8,000 acres for Del Monte after the firm reportedly agreed to cede 635 acres.
Waititu signed a memorandum of understanding with Del Monte managing director Stergios Gklaliamoutas, allowing the firm to use the land for the next 99 years.
During the signing of the agreement, Waititu announced that 200 acres of the surrendered land would be used for the construction of an airstrip while 20 acres would be used as a cemetery.
But Wa Muchomba expressed concerns over what she said were conflicting information on the actual acreage surrendered.
This was after Thika Town MP Patrick Wainaina alleged the total acreage surrendered was about 1,000 acres, claims the governor has denied.
Ms Wa Muchomba and other county leaders have accused Waititu of “acting unilaterally”.