MCAs con Waititu Sh5.5m to scuttle impeachment – Weekly Citizen

Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu is counting losses after he bribed about 50 MCAs with Sh500,000 in a futile bid to stop his impeachment.

The governor had sold a prime piece of land in Ruai, Nairobi to raise the money.

An MCA who spoke to us on condition of anonymity revealed that Waititu ferried them to Naivasha on Wednesday evening where he handed them Sh500,000 each to scuttle the impeachment motion.

Chaotic Kiambu county Assembly

But after receiving the money, the MCAs fled the hotel which is owned by Waititu and joined their colleagues at the County Assembly where they impeached the governor.

Sources say in Naivasha, the MCAs received a call from State House where they were warned that failure to impeach the governor would see the Jubilee Party defrock them, and hence they would lose their seats.

Each of the MCAs was told individually by the unidentified caller from State House that he or she was free to take Waititu’s money but should thereafter proceed to the County Assembly to impeach the embattled governor.

Sources added that the MCAs were promised they would be invited to State House to meet President Uhuru Kenyatta once they impeached the county boss.

It was a double blow to Waititu after Deputy Governor James Nyoro recalled all the vehicles that had been allocated to his boss immediately after the impeachment motion.

On Friday, the governor was seen in his private car with no bodyguards.

Waititu’s impeachment came days after the Assets Recovery Unit moved to attach some of his properties believed to have been obtained using proceeds from the corruption.

Already, a 22-wheel tanker belonging to the governor has been impounded and he has also been ordered to surrender to the agency title deeds of land in Nairobi hosting a four-storey building.

The governor suffered another setback after the Court of Appeal upheld High Court judge Mumbi Ngugi’s ruling on suspension of governors facing graft charges.

The three-judge bench sitting in Milimani ruled that elected executives cannot continue attending office when facing corruption related charges.

On July 24, High Court Judge Mumbi Ngugi ruled that governors facing corruption charges should step aside until their cases are concluded.

Sitting in Milimani, Court of Appeal judge Jamila Mohamed said there are incidents where vital documents were lost after officers charged with economic crimes were allowed access.

Governors Moses Lenolkulal (Samburu), Waititu and Mike Sonko (Nairobi) had sought the Appellate court’s reprieve to gain access to their offices.

Waititu’s fate now is in the hands of the Senate.

The law stipulates that the Senate must, within 10 days of receiving the county assembly’s resolution from the Speaker, convene and set up a special committee or sit as a committee of the whole House to determine whether or not the claims in the impeachment are substantiated.

Kiambu deputy governor Nyoro

If the Senate finds the claims substantiated, Waititu will need to appear before it before it makes a decision, but if the claims are unsubstantiated, that will be the end of the proceedings.

Earlier, Kiambu MCAs and CECs had approached the Supreme Court seeking an advisory opinion on Waititu’s suspension from office.

The politician was barred from accessing his office in July following corruption charges over irregular award of tenders worth Sh588 million.

He was also prohibited from performing functions as a county boss pending the determination of his trial before the anti-corruption court.