Waititu slapped with additional Sh21m fine over Sh588.7m money laundering case

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Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu has been slapped with a further total fine of Sh21 million or 13 years in jail over three money laundering counts linked to the Sh588.7 million Kiambu road tender scandal.

Milimani Anti-Corruption Chief Magistrate Harrison Barasa on Monday handed down the fresh sentences against Waititu, his wife Susan Wangari, businessman Charles Chege and his wife Beth Wangechi and companies associated with the disputed road contract.

Waititu was fined Sh10 million or five years in prison under Count 10 for laundering Sh12,410,500.

He was further fined Sh6 million or serve four years in prison under Count 11, involving the laundering of Sh7,214,000, and Sh5 million or serve four years under Count 12, involving Sh6 million.

Waititu's wife, Susan Wangari, who was trading as Bienvenue Delta Hotel, was separately fined Sh2 million or serve two years in prison in default under Count 11 for laundering Sh7,214,000.

The sentences relate to transactions involving Sh12.4 million, Sh7.2 million and Sh6 million allegedly transferred from Testimony Enterprises Limited to companies associated with Waititu and his wife in arrangements intended to conceal the source of the money.

Businessman Charles Chege Mbuthia and his company, Testimony Enterprises Limited, were ordered to pay a combined Sh57 million in fines, with Chege facing 13 years in default of payment of his personal fines.

His wife, Beth Wangechi, a co-director of the company, was separately fined Sh4 million or four years in prison in default.

The magistrate directed the corporate accused persons to pay their respective fines within 14 days.

In his sentencing decision, Barasa said the law gave courts discretion to determine appropriate punishment depending on the circumstances of individual offenders.

"The sentence must be proportionate to the offending behaviour, having regard to the gravity of the offence and the responsibility of each offender," he said.

The magistrate noted that money laundering was a serious economic offence that threatened the integrity and stability of the financial system and required punishment that would serve as a deterrent.

He, however, said the court had to consider the individual circumstances of each accused person, including their respective roles in the transactions, mitigation and previous sentences imposed in other counts.

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Barasa also considered the defence argument that some of the accused persons were passive directors who had limited involvement in the companies through which the money was transferred.

The defence had urged the court to exercise leniency, arguing that the accused persons had already received substantial fines in other counts and that additional punishment risked imposing disproportionate sentences.

However, the prosecution urged the court to consider the seriousness of the offences, arguing that money laundering was a distinct crime that undermined Kenya's financial system.

The magistrate said the sentences would run concurrently as directed by the High Court in its judgment delivered on October 14, 2026.

The latest sentences are additional penalties on the money-laundering charges, following the High Court's decision to overturn the acquittals of the accused persons on three counts and enter convictions against them.

Justice Rose Ougo allowed the State's cross-appeal, setting aside the acquittals on Counts 10, 11 and 12 and finding Waititu and his co-accused guilty of money laundering.

Waititu is already serving a 12-year prison sentence imposed over his role in the irregular award of a Sh588.7 million road construction contract by the Kiambu County Government.

The case centres on allegations that Waititu corruptly received Sh25 million from Testimony Enterprises Limited, which had secured the county roads contract during the 2017/2018 financial year.

The prosecution presented evidence tracing money from the contract through companies associated with the accused persons.