Kenya: Court Upholds Waititu Conviction, Reinstates Money Laundering Charges

What the report says

A Kenyan court has revived money laundering charges against former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu and left in place his corruption convictions in a case tied to a county road tender. According to Capital FM, as distributed by AllAfrica, the High Court judgment was delivered on October 14, 2026 by Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Court judge Rose Ougo. The ruling also affected Waititu’s wife, Susan Wangari Ndungu, and two associates, whose convictions were upheld.

The case stems from investigations launched in 2019 into the award of a Sh588 million Kiambu County contract to Testimony Enterprises Limited for upgrading gravel roads to bitumen standards in several sub-counties, including Thika, Limuru, Gatundu North, Juja and Ruiru. The article says Waititu and his co-accused were first convicted in February 2025 on offenses including conflict of interest, suspicious property dealings, abuse of office, fraudulent procurement, and failure to follow procurement rules.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission welcomed the reinstatement of the money laundering charges, saying it was important to tracing suspected proceeds of corruption. The commission is also pursuing separate civil recovery efforts, including a Sh170 million claim and asset forfeiture proceedings in related cases. The matter is due back in court on October 19, 2026 for mitigation and sentencing on the revived money laundering counts.