The Director of Public Prosecution, DCI and Inspector General of police have filed a joint replying affidavit supporting EACC's decision to probe Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu over graft.
In their joint affidavit filed in Kiambu chief magistrate's court by assistant DPP Tom Imbali, the three respondents say EACC has not violated any law in conducting investigations against Waititu.
They said they are aware that EACC has been undertaking investigations relating to Waititu which are still ongoing. The exercise is within the independent mandate of the agency which court has no basis to usurp as the applicant has not established any reason for interference by the court, they say.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has already filed its further affidavit stating they are investigating how three companies owned by Waititu, his wife Susan Wangari and their daughter Monica Njeri allegedly received kickbacks worth millions of shillings for irregularly awarded road tenders worth Sh588 million.
The details are contained in an affidavit by EACC detective Regina Ng’ang’a.
In support of EACC affidavit, the DPP says he has a mandate under the Constitution and other legislation to institute and undertake criminal proceedings, take over and continue or discontinue any criminal proceeding at any stage before judgement is delivered. The mandate, they say, does not extend to the investigations and arrest of suspects.
The affidavit says the governor and some of his relatives received money through Saika Two Estate Develop, a company he owns jointly with his daughter; Bienvenue Delta Hotel belonging to him and his wife as well as Connex Logistics Africa, which is owned by his wife.
The politician has for the past few months been grappling with allegations of presiding over a corrupt administration that has been milking the county’s coffers dry and using the loot to improve his lifestyle, mostly acquiring property in Nairobi and Kiambu.
The county boss has been in the spotlight over the acquisition of multimillion shilling properties in Nairobi’s CBD, notably Delta Hotel and Jamii Bora House, Runda and Migaa, with his critics saying he has acquired them using stolen county money.
While justifying Waititu's arrest and interrogation, Ng’ang’a said the investigation was necessitated by complaints of alleged corruption and economic crimes, bribery and conflict of interest where money was irregularly paid to contractors and officials during the 2017-18 financial year.
Ng’ang’a said analysis of documents they obtained showed that early last year, the county's Transport executive presented a Cabinet paper dated January 24, 2018, on the proposed improvement of eight gravel roads to bitumen standard using soil stabilisation technology.
The projects, according to the county’s estimates, were to cost Sh610 million, with each kilometre gobbling up Sh29 million.
On February 12, the county, Ng’ang’a said, invited tenders via an advert placed in the dailies under the tender name “proposed improvement of various gravel roads to bituminous standards in Kiambu”, and on February 23 a tender opening committee was appointed.
The bids were opened three days later wherein five companies had expressed their interest. And the following day, the tenders were evaluated and a report, which was signed on March 5, prepared.
Edited by R.Wamochie
