Three companies owned by Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu received millions of shillings in kickbacks through fraudulent deals, it has emerged.
According to an affidavit by the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC), the companies also owned by his wife and daughter were awarded road tenders amounting to Sh588 million.
This comes only days after the governor was questioned for over 8 hours, following his initial arrest and questioning after which he was released on bail.
The companies, according to the affidavit filed before Kiambu Resident Magistrate Brian Khaemba on Thursday, include Saika Two Estate Developers, Bienvenue Hotel and Connex Logistics Africa.
EACC detective Regina Nganga claimed that Saika company is co-owned by the county boss and his daughter Monica Njeri, in a scam that has also absorbed in his wife Susan Wangari.
According to the EACC, the Bienvenue Hotel received Sh5. 2 million from the county in instalments in 2018, days after the county awarded Sh588 million to Testimony Enterprise which, ironically, had opened a bank account only 18 days earlier.
“Testimony Enterprise Ltd has so far been irregularly paid quite a substantial amount of money without raising certificates required to quantify the work.
"The money paid was thereafter transferred to either the Testimony directors’ accounts and later to the governor’s account, his wife, daughter and companies associated with the governor,” said Ng'ang'a.
The EACC has established that most of the fraudulent deals were done in the 2017/2018 financial year.