Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu will remain behind bars after the High Court on Thursday dismissed his second attempt to secure release on bond pending the hearing of his appeal. Waititu had filed a fresh application through his lawyer, Kibe Mungai, after his initial bond plea was rejected on March 3 by Justice Lucy Njuguna of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division.
Waititu has been incarcerated since February following his conviction in a corruption case, where he was sentenced to 12 years in prison or an alternative fine of Sh53 million. Despite his legal team’s efforts to secure temporary freedom, Justice Njuguna ruled that the court was functus officio—meaning it had already made a final decision on the matter and could not revisit or alter it.
In her ruling, Justice Njuguna emphasized that the issues raised in Waititu’s second application had already been addressed in the earlier one. She noted that the application did not seek a review of the court’s initial decision or challenge the ruling, but merely reintroduced arguments that had already been dealt with. As such, she struck out the application, declaring it “devoid of merit.”
Waititu’s legal team argued that he risked serving part of the sentence unnecessarily if his appeal were to succeed. They insisted that the potential of unjust incarceration constituted exceptional circumstances. They also contended that Waititu, being a public figure with a known residence, was not a flight risk.
However, the Director of Public Prosecutions, represented by counsel Vincent Monda, opposed the application, stating it did not meet the threshold for exceptional circumstances required for bond pending appeal.
Although the High Court dismissed the bid, it granted Waititu leave to appeal the decision. The case will be mentioned on June 25 to confirm compliance before the substantive appeal is heard. In the meantime, Waititu remains in prison unless he opts to pay the Sh53 million fine to secure his release.
