The Milimani Anti-Corruption Court will on February 18, 2026 rule whether it will review bail terms for jailed former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Ndungu Waititu popularly known as Babayao, who is seeking to replace a Sh53.5 million bank guarantee with a Sh20 million cash bail deposit.
The Director of Public Prosecutions strongly opposed the application, arguing that the bail conditions previously imposed by the court are reasonable and should not be altered.
Waititu has been detained at Kamiti Maximum Prison for more than seven months despite being granted bail in July last year.
He argued that meeting the bank guarantee requirement has proved impossible despite repeated efforts.
Appearing before Justice Wilfrida Okwany, state prosecutor Mwamburi told the court that the prosecution had filed an affidavit opposing the application.
“My lady, we are objecting to the application solely on the ground that the applicant has not satisfied the conditions to warrant the review of the court orders issued on March 3, 2025,” the prosecutor submitted.
The prosecution further argued that Waititu’s repeated applications lack sufficient merit to justify judicial intervention.
“This change does not necessarily meet the conditions for review, but it appears the applicant keeps moving from one prayer to another without enough substance,” the prosecutor added.
Waititu was sentenced to 12 years in prison or ordered to pay a Sh53,749,000 fine after being convicted of corruption-related offences in February 2025.
The case arose from a Sh588 million road construction tender awarded to Testimony Enterprises.
The trial court found that Waititu received Sh20 million in kickbacks and that the tender was issued fraudulently and illegally.
Following his conviction by then Chief Magistrate Thomas Nzyoki, Waititu was granted bail on July 31, 2025, to enable him seek specialised medical treatment outside prison due to ill health.
However, the bail terms required him to provide a bank guarantee of Sh53.5 million.
Through his lawyer Christopher Ndolo Mutuku, Waititu filed a certificate of urgency on January 21, 2026, seeking review of the bail terms.
In his submissions, Mutuku invoked the doctrine of impossibility and frustration, arguing that despite reasonable efforts, securing the bank guarantee had proved unattainable.
He maintained that enforcing the condition would render the earlier decision granting bail meaningless.
The defence further argued that although Waititu had initially proposed the Sh53.5 million bank guarantee as a bail condition, changed circumstances had made compliance impossible.
The application states that bail conditions should not be oppressive or unattainable, particularly given that bail pending appeal recognises the possibility of a conviction being overturned.
In his notice of motion, Waititu is asking the court to set aside the Sh53.5 million bank guarantee requirement and instead allow his release upon payment of a Sh20 million cash security deposit, or any other amount the court may deem appropriate.
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