NAIROBI, Kenya – Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu, popularly known as Baba Yao, will remain in custody after the High Court declined his request to swap a bank guarantee bond with a cash deposit.
Justice Lucy Njuguna on Wednesday rejected an oral application filed by Waititu’s lawyer, Chris Mutuku, who argued that the former county boss had been unable to raise the Sh53 million bank guarantee bond granted in February.
Waititu, who is appealing his conviction over a Sh588 million corruption scandal, has been in custody despite the earlier bond terms.
His lawyer told the court that commercial banks had declined to issue the guarantee, effectively locking him behind bars even as he continued receiving treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital.
“This application is necessitated by the fact that banks have declined to provide the guarantee. My client remains under custody despite the orders previously granted. We urge this court to consider substitution with a cash deposit,” Mutuku submitted.
But Justice Njuguna dismissed the plea, observing that this was the third attempt by Waititu’s legal team to vary the bond conditions.
“I will not allow your application. It was your third application, and the court granted it. There were complaints that the matter is taking too long, and it is on that basis that I gave 120 days. For purposes of record, the 120 days start running today,” she ruled.
The judge stressed that the court’s priority is to hear and determine the consolidated appeals rather than entertain repeated applications on bond terms.
“I said we don’t make any other applications but concentrate on the appeal. We hear it and get it out of our way. My ruling is that I have declined the application,” she added.
Justice Njuguna, however, directed that the application could be renewed on October 6, 2025, when the court will also issue directions on the consolidation of Waititu’s appeal cases.
Waititu was convicted in February 2025 over corruption charges linked to irregular procurement and mismanagement of public funds during his tenure as Kiambu governor.
