Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu has been released from prison after the High Court reviewed his bail terms as he continues to pursue an appeal in a major corruption case involving hundreds of millions of shillings.
The development was revealed in court on Thursday when the matter came up before the High Court Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division.
Waititu’s lawyer, Jeremy Njenga, informed the court that his client had already secured his freedom following the new orders issued earlier by the court.
According to Njenga, the decision by the High Court to review the bail terms paved the way for the former governor to walk out of Kamiti Maximum Prison where he had been serving his sentence.
Waititu had been convicted in February 2025 in connection with the irregular award of a Sh588 million road construction tender in Kiambu County.
The High Court, under Justice Wilfrida Okwany, later granted him a reprieve by reviewing the earlier bail conditions pending the hearing and determination of his appeal.
Initially, the court had required Waititu to raise a Sh53 million bond with a bank guarantee, terms that made it difficult for him to secure release.
However, the judge later revised the conditions and set a new bail of Sh20 million cash, allowing the former governor to obtain his freedom as he waits for the outcome of his appeal.
The court session also addressed applications filed by Waititu’s co-appellants in the same case, including Luka Mwangi Wahinya, a former Kiambu County Chief Officer for Transport, and businessman Charles Chege Mbuthia.
The judge directed that all appeals connected to the case will be handled together since they arise from the same trial.
In one of the rulings, the court allowed businessman Charles Chege Mbuthia to introduce additional evidence during the appeal.
The evidence includes an audit report examining the upgrading of several gravel roads to bitumen standards in Kiambu County.
According to the defence, the report suggests that the contractor involved in the project may actually have been owed Sh113.6 million by the Kiambu County Government.
However, prosecutors opposed the request, arguing that the matter had already been decided earlier and that the report did not qualify as new evidence.
Despite the objection, Justice Okwany ruled that the document could help the court fully understand the financial transactions related to the case.
The prosecution was given 30 days to respond to the new evidence or challenge it during the appeal process.
In a separate ruling, the court also allowed Luka Wahinya to be released on bail pending his appeal.
Wahinya had told the court that his wife is seriously ill and requires urgent treatment abroad, including a bone marrow transplant in India.
The Director of Public Prosecutions did not oppose the request, and the judge ruled that Wahinya could be released on Sh5 million cash bail or provide two sureties worth Sh10 million each.
The court further ordered that all the consolidated appeals be given priority and scheduled the next mention of the case for April 14, 2026.
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