During his untroubled days as Kiambu County Governor, Ferdinand Waititu was a jolly man. He had many close political associates he regarded as friends.
In fact, in the run up to the 2017 General Election, he was a darling to many who's who in political circles including President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto thanks to the huge political base he commanded in the vote-rich county.
In Kiambu, specifically, business moguls and corporates bankrolled Mr Waititu’s campaigns despite fears that his abrasive political style may have ripple effects on their businesses.
To the business community, they were not his friends but were playing safe. Mr Waititu went on to win, but his stint at the top did not last very long.
However, things have gone south in every way: he recently lost his plum job at the helm of one of Kenya's wealthiest counties. He is also fighting a Sh588 million corruption case in the corridors of justice.
Now, Mr Waititu claims that the people he thought were his friends and who benefitted from his influence to gain votes from the public have sidelined him, adding that they neither reach out nor picks his calls.
“I have now understood the politics better. When I was Kiambu Governor, I used to receive a lot of calls from different people especially politicians seeking different favours from me. Some I built their careers and helped them win but now they don’t pick my calls when I call them,” Mr Waititu told the Nation yesterday without naming names.
“I stopped calling them but that is the nature of politics. People calling you when you are in a position to help them but not when you are out of politics,” he lamented.
The former governor was impeached by the Kiambu County Assembly late December over corruption allegations and conflict of interest for allowing his close family members to do business with the county.
Mr Waititu claims he is now living like an ordinary Kenyan after his official vehicles were withdrawn and his security detail withdrawn. To date, he says he has never understood how it happened and how swiftly it moved.
“My friend...I am now like an ordinary citizen. My official vehicles were withdrawn including my security after I was impeached. I don’t know who ordered for the vehicles to be withdrawn. I returned everything I had from the county. I don’t have anything...including a bicycle,” he told this reporter.
The former governor says he is not interested in politics for now, but this does not mean he has hang his boots just yet.
“In politics you don’t retire. I have just taken some time off from the politics but I will be back soon,” he said
For now, the impeached Governor says he is focused on running his businesses that are spread across real estate, hospitality and public service vehicles among others.
“I do not want to talk about Kiambu County because I am not involved in how it is being run,” he said.
