High Court orders forfeiture of Sh76m assets linked to ex-Kiambu governor Waititu

The High Court has ordered the forfeiture of assets valued at Sh76.2 million linked to former Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu and the recovery of a Sh3 million parcel of land registered in his wife’s name, after the court determined the properties were unexplained wealth.In a judgment delivered on Friday, Justice Nixon Sifuna partly allowed a civil suit filed by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), which sought the recovery of assets said to have been acquired during Waititu’s tenure in public office.

The judge found that EACC had demonstrated a prima facie case showing that several assets associated with Waititu were not accompanied by satisfactory explanations regarding their acquisition. These included land and movable properties whose value the commission placed at Sh76.2 million.

“They having been determined to be unexplained wealth and it is hereby ordered they be forfeited to the Kenyan government,” he ruled.

However, the court declined to grant EACC’s request to forfeit funds held in various bank accounts linked to Waititu, his wife, and associated companies.

Justice Sifuna ruled that the commission’s claims relating to the bank accounts were neither pleaded with sufficient clarity nor supported by adequate evidence.

“I have not found anything on record to fault the bank accounts,” the judge said, adding that while a prima facie case had been established in respect of some assets, the same threshold had not been met regarding the funds

Waititu and his wife had opposed the suit, maintaining that the properties were lawfully acquired.

EACC had sought recovery of assets valued at Sh1.9 billion, but the court only allowed forfeiture of the specific properties identified as unexplained.