Waititu, co-accused get additional jail terms over Sh588m road tender scandal
Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu and businessman Charles Chege at the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court on October 27, 2026.
Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu has been fined Sh21 million, or 13 years in prison in default, after being found guilty of money laundering in connection with a Sh588.7 million road construction tender awarded during his tenure.
Chief Magistrate Harrison Barasa, delivering the additional sentences at the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court on Monday, November 2, 2026, handed Mr Waititu the penalty following his conviction on three money laundering counts. The additional prison terms will run concurrently with his existing 12-year sentence for corruption-related offences.
Mr Waititu's wife, Susan Wangari Ndung'u, was fined Sh18 million or two years in prison in default, over her involvement in companies linked to the disputed transactions.
Businessman Charles Mbuthia Chege, a director of Testimony Enterprises Limited, was similarly fined Sh21 million or 13 years, while his wife, Beth Wangechi Mburu, was ordered to pay Sh6 million or serve six years in default.
No leniency for the wives
Former Kiambu County Governor Ferdinand Waititu (left) and wife Susan Wangari Ndung’u at the Milimani Law Court on February 13, 2025, before they were sentenced in a Sh588 million corruption case.
The sentences were delivered after the accused appeared before the court for mitigation. Mr Waititu and Mr Chege appealed for leniency for their wives, arguing that they had played little or no role in the transactions that led to their convictions.
Mr Waititu described Ms Wangari as a silent partner in the companies associated with the tender, arguing that she was neither a signatory to their bank accounts nor involved in making business decisions.
"The court will note that Susan was a silent partner in the two companies. She was not a signatory or a decision maker. Her role was peripheral and purely to conform to the Companies Act at the time of incorporation," his lawyer submitted.
The defence made similar arguments for Ms Mburu, saying her involvement was limited to signing initial company incorporation documents and that she had no role in the companies' daily operations.
From left; Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu, alias Baba Yao, Charles Chege, Susan Wangari, and Beth Wangeci at the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court for a mitigation hearing in the money laundering charge that they were convicted to by the High Court.
It further argued that the road construction works had been completed and that an audit report presented by the prosecution showed no loss of public funds, insisting that the dispute centred on the procurement process and not on the execution of the projects.
Mr Chege also appealed for leniency, saying his wife owned only one share in the company and was not a signatory to its bank accounts. He told the court that he was already serving a sentence after being fined Sh296 million or facing 11 years in prison. He added that Ms Mburu had struggled to raise Sh1.4 million to pay a fine imposed following her earlier conviction.
The defence also urged the court to consider the welfare of Ms Mburu's young children, arguing that imprisoning both parents would affect the minors, who had no involvement in the offences.
The prosecution opposed the request, insisting that the spouses had been convicted in their individual capacities and should therefore face the penalties prescribed by law. The State argued that money laundering was a distinct criminal offence and that Kenya's obligations under international conventions required the country to criminalise and punish such activities. It further maintained that the sentences should serve as a deterrent to others.
In delivering the sentences, Mr Barasa said money laundering offences fall under a special legal regime that requires courts to impose penalties within the limits prescribed by law. He added that the prosecution had proved the charges beyond reasonable doubt and that each accused person had to be held individually accountable.
"Each person shall bear the burden of the offences separately," he said.
The sentences in detail
Under the sentencing orders, Mr Waititu was fined Sh10 million or five years in prison on Count 10, Sh6 million or four years on Count 11, and Sh5 million or four years on Count 12.
Mr Chege received similar penalties, while Ms Mburu was fined Sh2 million or two years in prison on each of the three counts. Ms Wangari was ordered to pay a total of Sh18 million or serve two years in default.
The court also imposed substantial fines on companies linked to the transactions. Testimony Enterprises Limited, which received the Sh588.7 million road construction contract, was fined Sh36 million, while Saika Two Estate Developers Limited was ordered to pay Sh24 million. Bienvenue Delta Hotel was fined Sh4 million. The magistrate directed the corporate accused persons to settle their fines within 14 days.
How the case arose
Former Kiambu County Governor Ferdinand Waititu at the Milimani Law Court on February 13, 2025.
The case arose from a Sh588.7 million contract awarded to Testimony Enterprises Limited by the Kiambu County Government for the upgrading of gravel roads to bituminous standards across several sub-counties during Mr Waititu's tenure as governor.
Prosecutors told the court that money from the public project was channelled through businesses associated with Mr Waititu and his co-accused in a scheme intended to conceal the proceeds of crime. Investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission established that Saika Two Estate Developers received more than Sh25.6 million, while Bienvenue Delta Hotel received Sh7.214 million from the disputed contract proceeds.
The latest sentences follow a High Court decision by Justice Rose Ougo, who overturned earlier acquittals on the money laundering charges and entered convictions against Mr Waititu and his co-accused. She found that the trial court had misapprehended the facts and the law when it acquitted the accused on Counts 10, 11 and 12. She upheld the convictions of Mr Waititu, Mr Chege and Luka Waihinya over the irregular procurement of the road works. Mr Waititu had been convicted of corruptly receiving Sh25 million from Testimony Enterprises, which had secured the county government contract.
Allowing the State's cross-appeal, Justice Ougo said investigators had traced funds from the irregular tender through entities associated with the accused and into asset acquisitions.
"The evidence demonstrates a classic pattern of placing, layering, and integrating illicit funds through corporate entities and asset acquisitions," she ruled.
The judge also upheld the fines and prison terms imposed in the underlying corruption case, finding that mandatory penalties under the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act were lawful and could not be reduced by relying on general sentencing provisions in the Penal Code. She noted that an appellate court could interfere with a sentence only under specific circumstances, including where it was illegal, based on erroneous legal principles or manifestly excessive or inadequate.
Despite the defence's plea that their wives had played peripheral roles in the companies, the court maintained that each accused person was individually responsible for the offences and imposed the additional penalties accordingly.
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