Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru, who also doubles at the vice chairperson of the Council of Governors, is once again the subject of discussion on social media platforms after Chatham House invited the former Devolution cabinet secretary to give a lecture on “Five Years of Devolution in Kenya: Towards Inclusion, Gender Equality and Accountable Governance.” Waiguru seems to be the proverbial cat with nine lives after she managed to wriggle herself out of the 2015 National Youth Service (NYS) scandal that saw the taxpayer loose kes791 million. The Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC) put the figure swindled from NYS through shoddy corner corner dealings in excess of Kes1 billion. We take a look at properties owned by Anne Waiguru and her net worth.
Linked To Hotel Along Eastern Bypass
Reports that Waiguru owned Triple O Hotel along Eastern bypass came to light during the weeklong campaign on twitter dubbed #WeKnowYourSalary to expose ill gotten wealth by public servants. As it turned the hotel belongs to a different big fish altogether and not Waiguru. The tweet by Njoroge Marvis read:
@RobertSyundu Tripple O’s Hotel in Utawala owned by NYS thief @AnneWaiguru. Was constructed at the same time she constructed apartments in Utawala non-stop after NYS 1. Was constructed between 2016/2017 period #WeKnowYourSalary pic.twitter.com/yQpwK89OPV
— Marvis Njoroge (@NjorogeMarvis) June 18, 2018
House in Runda
Waiguru dispelled reports that seemed to suggest she was corrupt and only acquired her wealth when she joined government. In an interview with Citizen TV’s Hussein Mohamed, the Governor said she lived in Runda and owns the house in the upmarket estate. “I lived in Runda before I joined government and I own a house there. I also drove a Mercedes Benz before joining government so there is no way I could have benefited from fraudulent transactions at the NYS,” Waiguru said at the height of the NYS scandal. In the same interview, Waiguru maintained she was clean from any wrongdoing saying: “I worked at the World Bank and as the assistant vice president at Citi Group before joining government so the things I own were acquired legally.”
House in Kitisuru
The blogosphere went on overdrive when EACC detectives raided Anne Waiguru house as they tried to piece together her role in the NYS scandal. It was reported at the time that millions of shillings were found in the houses of the government officials adversely mentioned in the scandal. This raid gave a glimpse of Anne Waiguru palatial Kitisuru address. The then CS refuted claims that her Kitisuru home cost kes150 million as reported in blogs and a section of the mainstream media. In her defense, Waiguru said she bought the house under a mortgage plan for CSs that would see her pay 3 per percent interest rate over a period of 20 years. “My house is not paid for and it did not cost Sh150 million, only the deposit has been paid,” Waiguru told Hussein in the interview.
Flat in Kitengela
The Kirinyaga Governor is said to own a flat in Kitengela complete with CCTV cameras and a borehole. She has neither confirmed nor denied the reports.
Flat in Kamulu
A flat in Kamulu has been linked to the CS but this writer cannot authoritatively verify this information.
Anne Waiguru Net Worth
The Kirinyaga Governor has fought the tag that she acquired her wealth through corrupt dealings. She put her net worth at kes80 million. Waiguru said of her wealth: “In terms of assets, including this house which is on loan, I’m worth Sh160 million and the liabilities total to Sh80 million. The net value is therefore nothing to write home about..”
Do you think Anne Waiguru wealth is much more than she let out? Have your say on the comment section below.
