If you thought that Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu only tormented one widow during his heydays as a governor you are dead wrong.
Fresh details have emerged of how Waititu used President Uhuru Kenyatta’s name to torture a widow on grounds that he was reclaiming a grabbed land.
According to a report by People Daily, Waititu stormed the home of Pauline Chelagat Gitau, aged 55, in November 2018 and began bringing down her properties in the nine-acre piece of land in Kamae, Lari Sub-County, Kiambu.
According to Gitau, the piece of land had several numbers of indigenous trees that they, together with her husband, invested as their future investments 20 years ago.
On the fateful day, Waititu is said to have stormed the homestead with a group of people and started felling down her trees that she says was valued more than Ksh30 million.
According to Gitau, the fallen trees were transported from the firm by the Governor to undisclosed location.
Upon confronting the Governor, Gitau was informed that a presidential directive was being worked upon.
“Mahali popote naenda President anajua na ndiye amenituma. Mimi gavana ndio serikal (Wherever I go, the President knows and he is the one who has sent me here. As the governor, I’m the government),” narrated Gitau as quoted by People Daily.
Gitau told the Daily that her late husband Major (Rtd) Stephen Gitau was gifted the land by late President Daniel Moi in 1988.
The major had served as Moi’s pilot while in the Kenya Air Force. He died in 2015.
Gitau says she decided to tell her story after a Thika lady by the name Cecilia Mbugua had her Sh100 million plot returned to her after being grabbed by Waititu.
Gitau also narrated how he sought the attention of the President to confirm whether he had directed Waititu to ‘repossess the public land’.
However, she was not in a position to meet the President but she got the audience of the Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua and aired her frustrations.
Gitau narrates that she was informed by Kinyua that the President had not given such a directive.
When contacted by the Daily to respond to the allegations, Waititu said: “It is unfortunate that she is taking advantage of the woes facing me at the moment to come up with the allegations. In any case, action should be taken against her for having grabbed public land.”
According to the Daily, Waititu is adamant that the land belongs to the public.