Waititu, wife face Thursday sentencing after court delay

A failure to present one of the convicts in court has delayed the sentencing of former Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu, his wife Susan Wangari and two others in a money laundering case tied to a disputed county road construction contract.

The four were scheduled to appear before the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court for mitigation and sentencing yesterday (Monday) following a High Court ruling that overturned acquittals on money laundering charges. However, the proceedings could not go ahead after businessman Charles Mbuthia Chege was not brought before the court as directed.

Chief Magistrate Harrison Barasa ordered that Waititu and his co-convicts be produced in court on Thursday, October 22, for the sentencing process to proceed.

The other accused persons are Wangari and Luka Mwangi Wahinya, the former Kiambu County Chief Officer for Roads, Transport, Public Works and Utilities. Chege owns Testimony Enterprises Ltd, a firm that received road construction tenders from the county government and was accused of paying kickbacks to Waititu.

Waititu is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for corruption. He is expected to be brought to court from prison alongside the other convicts when the case resumes.

During the proceedings, Wangari sought temporary release on cash bail as she awaits mitigation and sentencing. The court rejected her application and directed that she continue to be held at Lang'ata Women's Prison pending the next hearing.

The delay comes days after High Court judge Rose Ougo overturned the acquittals of Wangari and two other accused persons on money laundering charges, finding that the trial court had misinterpreted the evidence and the applicable law.

"Accordingly, the Court sets aside the acquittals on Counts 10, 11, and 12 and convicts the Appellants and the 2nd Respondent on all money laundering counts as charged" Justice Ougo ruled.

In the same decision, Justice Ougo dismissed appeals by Waititu, Chege and Wahinya, leaving their convictions over the irregular award of road construction works in Kiambu County intact.

The court found that the prosecution had established the convicts' involvement in the fraudulent award of a multi-million-shilling contract. Waititu was found guilty of corruptly receiving Sh25 million from Testimony Enterprises Ltd, which had secured a Sh588 million road construction contract from the county government.

While allowing the State's cross-appeal, the judge said investigators had traced the movement of money from the irregular tender through companies associated with the accused. She also found that the defence had failed to provide credible documents to challenge the prosecution's evidence.

"The evidence demonstrates a classic pattern of placing, layering and integrating illicit funds through corporate entities and asset acquisitions," the judge said.

Justice Ougo further upheld the fines and prison terms imposed by the trial court, ruling that the penalties prescribed under the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act had been lawfully applied.

She said the mandatory fines provided for under the law could not be reduced by relying on the general sentencing provisions of the Penal Code.

"The fines imposed by the court under the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, being mandatory fines, were properly imposed," she ruled.

Waititu had challenged the fines and custodial sentences, arguing that the default prison terms imposed for failure to pay the fines were unlawful. His co-convicts also questioned the calculation and legality of the penalties handed down by the trial court.

However, Justice Ougo explained that an appellate court could only review a sentence under specific circumstances, including where it was illegal, based on a mistaken application of the law, or clearly excessive or inadequate.

The ruling left the convictions and penalties in place, paving the way for the sentencing proceedings that were scheduled for yesterday. The absence of Chege has now pushed the hearing to Thursday, while Wangari will remain in custody after the court declined to grant her bail.