High Court Rejects Waititu's Challenge to 10-Year Ban on Corruption Convicts

The High Court has refused a petition by former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu and three co-petitioners to invalidate Section 64 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, which bars anyone convicted of corruption or economic crimes from being elected or appointed to public office for ten years.

Justice Roselyne Aburili delivered the judgment on behalf of Justice Chacha Mwita, noting that the applicants “did not demonstrate why the section is unlawful.” The court held that the provision implements Chapter Six of the Constitution and that the petitioners failed to meet the legal threshold for declaring it unconstitutional.

The challengers also contested the default custodial sentences attached to their fines, arguing that they exceeded the limits set out in Section 28(2) of the Penal Code, which caps imprisonment for failure to pay fines above KSh50,000 at twelve months unless another law provides otherwise. The judge rejected this argument, observing that the convictions were under the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, not the Penal Code, and therefore the section did not apply.

The case originates from a KSh588 million corruption conviction linked to the irregular award of a road-construction tender to Testimony Enterprises Limited during Waititu’s tenure as governor. Waititu was fined KSh53.5 million with a twelve-year prison term as the alternative; former roads chief Luka Mwangi Wahinya received a KSh21 million fine and a seven-year term; businessman Charles Chege Mbuthia was fined KSh295 million and faced nine years of imprisonment.

The court further found that the petitioners had not shown a specific constitutional breach attributable to the Director of Public Prosecutions, who was named as the respondent, and indicated that any remaining issues should be addressed by the appellate court, which is already hearing the appeals against the convictions.

Waititu and the other petitioners are scheduled to appear before an anti-corruption court magistrate on October 27, 2026 for mitigation and sentencing on separate money-laundering and proceeds-of-crime charges, including Waititu’s conviction for receiving a KSh25 million bribe.