Kiambu Deputy Governor James Nyoro addressing a media conference on July 30, 2019. Photo/COURTESY.
NAIROBI, Kenya, July 30 – Kiambu Deputy Governor James Nyoro has declared that he is in charge of the county affairs after Governor Ferdinand Waititu was barred from office.
Waititu was barred from accessing office after facing corruption charges in a Sh588 million scandal in which his own company is accused of receiving kickbacks in a road construction tender.
“We have had our first meeting and we are ready to work together,” he said, “I am now in charge and the CECs and all county officials are ready to work with me. At this point, we are not talking about making changes, but we will work together as a team,” he said following fears that he was likely to kick out officials sympathetic to the embattled governor.
He said he aims to steer the county forward and take charge of all stalled development programs, including putting in place modalities for the payment of county workers their delayed salaries.
“For a long time, we have driven facing backwards and if you do so definitely at one point, there will be an accident. What we want to see in Kiambu county is accountability and transparency,” he said.
Waititu denied corruption charges on Monday and was ordered to pay Sh15 million cash bail or a bond of Sh30 million to secure freedom.
Anti-Corruption Court Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi also ordered him to surrender his passports and ensure he does not contact witnesses lined up to testify against him in the Sh588 million corruption case.
Waitutu’s lawyer Tom Ojienda however, indicated that he will be appealing the decision, which he described as discriminatory and unconstitutional.
Waititu’s wife Susan Wangari, with whom he is charged in the scandal, was released on a cash bail of Sh4 million or bond of Sh10 million.
The decision to bar Waititu follows a ruling issued last week by Justice Mumbi Ngugi who upheld a magistrate’s decision to bar Samburu Governor Moses Kasaine from office until a corruption case against him is heard and determined.
Kasaine has since appealed the decision.
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