Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu, popularly known as “Baba Yao,” has secured a significant legal victory after the High Court reduced his bail terms, potentially ending his eight-month stint behind bars at Kamiti Maximum Prison.
In a ruling delivered at noon today, the court adjusted the stringent release conditions that had kept the former county chief in custody since his conviction in February 2025. Waititu will now be required to deposit a Sh20 million cash bail, a steep reduction from the original Sh53.5 million bank guarantee that his legal team labeled “impossible” to secure.
The ruling follows a high-stakes application by Waititu’s advocates, who invoked the legal doctrine of frustration and impossibility. The defense argued that despite “exhaustive efforts” over the last eight months, no commercial bank in Kenya was willing to issue a guarantee for a convicted individual while an appeal was still pending.
“Enforcing an unattainable condition is a denial of the right to bail,” argued his lead counsel. “The applicant has been in custody for 240 days not because he is a flight risk, but because the financial bar was set at an unreachable height.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had vehemently opposed the reduction, maintaining that the original Sh53.5 million figure was a direct reflection of the kickbacks Waititu was found to have received in the Sh588 million road tender scandal.
“This is a court of law, not a court of mercy,” the prosecution argued during submissions on Monday. However, the presiding judge noted that bail should not be used as a pre-emptive punishment, particularly when the appellant’s health citing chronic chest pains and high blood pressure remains a concern.
While the reduction to Sh20 million is a reprieve, Waititu is not yet in the clear. The court maintained other strict conditions: His assets, valued at approximately Sh1.9 billion, remain frozen by the EACC pending the final determination of his appeal. He must surrender all travel documents and is barred from leaving the country. He remains disqualified from holding any public office for a period of ten years.
As Waititu’s family moves to mobilize the Sh20 million, the eyes of the nation remain on the Court of Appeal, where the substantive challenge to his 12-year sentence is expected to be heard in the coming months.