Former Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu suffered another major blow after the High Court rejected his second bail application pending the hearing and determination of his appeal against a 12-year jail term.
Justice Lucy Njuguna said the renewed bail application lacked merit and dismissed it.
However, Justice Njuguna allowed Waititu and his two fellow serving prisoners, Charles Chege and Lucas Wahinya, to challenge her ruling at the Court of Appeal.
Waititu sought to be released on bond immediately after he was handed the sentence for corruptly receiving over Sh25 million arising from a Sh588 million roads project awarded to a contractor.
Justice Njuguna rejected the first application by Waititu, saying, “Sickness is not a good ground for the court to rely on to grant bail to Waititu.”
The dismissal of the first bail plea paved the way for the second one, made through lawyers Kibe Mungai and Ndegwa Njiru.
In her ruling, Justice Njuguna cited provisions of the law that prohibit courts from revisiting their earlier decisions.
The first bail application pending appeal against the 12-year jail term was prosecuted by lawyers Danstan Omari, Sam Nyaberi, and Shadrack Wambui.
“The applicant has contended that the current application is not based on the same facts and circumstances, for the reason that it is based on an amended petition of appeal and further that the High Court has powers to entertain more than one application for bail concerning the same person depending on the facts and circumstances,” the judge observed.
She added, “By the time the earlier application pending appeal was filed, the proceedings had already been typed and there was nothing that prevented the applicants from filing a comprehensive petition of appeal covering all the grounds that have been included in the amended application.”
Justice Njuguna referred to several previous decisions of the Court of Appeal that bar her from litigating a second lawsuit on the same claim or any other claim arising from the same transaction or series of transactions.
"This court is not persuaded by the applicants, and in respect to the present application, and for the reasons this court has given, I hold a strong view that the application lacks merit and I strike it out," ruled the judge.
Following the rejection of his second attempt to secure freedom, Waititu will seek the intervention of the Court of Appeal.
He was jailed by Anti-Corruption Court Chief Magistrate Thomas Nzyoki after being found guilty of corruptly receiving over Sh25 million from contractor Charles Chege, whose company—Testimonies Enterprise Limited (TEL)—had been awarded tenders to construct roads in Kiambu County.
Waititu was returned to Kamiti Maximum Security Prison.
