Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu admitted to illegally acquiring land worth Ksh100 million belonging to a widow, Ms Cecilia Mbugua.
According to an investigation done by the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ), Waititu was found guilty of having used the power of his office to fraudulently transfer Ms Mbugua’s land to Ms Esther Nyatu.
Following Waititu’s admission in the act, CAJ Chairperson Florence Kajuju handed over title deeds back to Ms Mbugua.
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Investigations done by the commission noted that the two properties, Thika Municipality/BlockXI/877, and Thika Municipality/BlockXI/878 were transferred to Ms Nyatu following a process facilitated by the governor.
Additionally, Kiambu County land officials revealed that Mr Waititu facilitated the transfer and provided all the required documents.
The CAJ statement states, “The land registrar explained that his office received duly executed transfer documents and had no way of determining or detecting any irregularity in the transfer process.”
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Ms Kajuju further noted: “We will hand over our report to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations. We are not allowed to prosecute. We follow our investigations and if we find a criminal element then we forward the same to the relevant offices.”
According to Ms Mbugua, her land issues commenced in 2013 after she sought the county’s approval to develop it.
The approval was given but was then revoked by the county government on allegations that the land belonged to a Jua Kali association.
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Following the claims, Mbugua went to court and later she won the case.
However, she was later summoned to Mr Waititu’s office and given an ultimatum to surrender two of five plots that she owns or never get the county’s approval to develop the land.
She gave in to pressure and gave up two parcels which were transferred to Ms Nyatu, who, according to CAJ, was not even aware of the transfer.
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Investigations by CAJ revealed that Ms Nyatu’s details, such as copies of her identification card, KRA PIN, and passport size photograph were provided to the county land officials by the governor himself.
It was after these revelations and interview by the commission that Governor Waititu surrendered the title deeds to be returned to Ms Mbugua.
Following the developments, the governor is likely to find himself facing new charges of abuse of office.
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