Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu has lost a court bid to overturn a law barring people convicted of corruption and economic crimes from holding public office for 10 years.
The High Court dismissed the petition challenging Section 64 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, finding that the petitioners had not established sufficient grounds to declare it unconstitutional.
Justice Roselyne Aburili delivered the judgment on behalf of Justice Chacha Mwita. “The petitioners did not demonstrate why the section is unlawful,” the court stated.
Waititu and his co-petitioners had argued that the provision, which gives effect to the Constitution’s leadership and integrity requirements, unlawfully limits their eligibility for public office. They also questioned the legality of the prison terms imposed as alternatives to fines following their convictions in the Sh588 million Kiambu County corruption case.
The case centred on the irregular award of a road construction tender to Testimony Enterprises Limited during Waititu’s tenure as governor. Waititu was fined Sh53.5 million or, in default, ordered to serve 12 years in prison. Former county roads chief officer Luka Mwangi Wahinya was fined Sh21 million or seven years in prison.
Businessman Charles Chege Mbuthia, a director of Testimony Enterprises Limited, was fined Sh295 million or nine years behind bars.
The petitioners argued that the default prison terms exceeded the limits prescribed under Section 28(2) of the Penal Code, challenging the legality of the sentences on constitutional grounds.
