Kabogo unearths fresh allegations against Waititu's official name

The political supremacy battle between Kiambu Governor William Kabogo and Kabete MP Ferdinand Waititu has taken a new twist with the county chief executive now accusing the legislator of changing his name to Clifford in order to be allowed to vie for the Nairobi gubernatorial seat.

In an affidavit sworn before Commissioner of Oaths Alex Masika and released to the Nation, Mr Kabogo says Mr Waititu applied to have his name changed through a deed poll signed on January 11, 2014, a month before the elections, to avoid being barred because of a constitutional requirement.

The governor says the only time Mr Waititu used the name Clifford was at the ballot in 2013 and after that reverted to his old name, including in law suits he had filed challenging the election of Governor Evans Kidero and when vying for the Kabete parliamentary seat -- which raises questions about his integrity.

He further alleges that the MP, despite swearing to abandon his previous name Ferdinand Ndung’u Waititu in the deed poll, still continues to do so in all his official documents, an action that is illegal.

“It is an undisputable fact that prior to the affidavit dated January 11, 2013 the respondent Ferdinand Ndung’u Waititu was known from birth by the said name and has never changed his name to anything else and has always been known by the same name in all his interactions and transactions,” he says.

At no point has Mr Waititu referred to himself as Clifford in any of the cases he filed to determine the legality of Mr Kidero’s win including the one before a tribunal investigating bribery allegations of Supreme Court Judge Philip Tunoi.

“It is an irrefutable fact that when the respondent was courting his wife he introduced himself as Ferdinand Ndungu Waititu and it is demonstrated by way of an affidavit that she deponed stating under oath that she knows her husband only by one name “Ferdinand Ndung’u Waititu,” he says.

Mr Kabogo filed a case at the High Court two weeks ago challenging the validity of Mr Waititu’s degree from Punjab University in India, where he claims to have also attended.

Photos of Mr Waititu allegedly showing his student days at Punjab University have surfaced in recent days in what is seen as an attempt by the MP to brush off suspicions that he was never a student of that institution.

(Read: Kabogo challenges Waititu's academic qualifications)

DEFYING ORDERS

The legislator also recently showed journalists a copy of a Bachelor of Commerce degree certificate bearing the name Clifford Ndung’u Waititu that he allegedly received upon graduation in 1988.

However, Mr Kabogo now claims that Clifford Ndung’u Waititu and Ferdinand Ndung’u Waititu are two different people and accuses the Kabete legislator of impersonation and wants him stripped of his parliamentary seat.

“Clifford Ndung’u Waititu is a different person from the respondent and has always been a separate person with specific identity from the time of birth to completion of primary and secondary education,” he says in the court papers.

“The person who graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Punjab University in June 1988 is therefore different and distinct from the respondent.”

“It is irrefutable that the Ferdinand Waititu whose birth was registered on January 4, 1980 cannot have been the same person as the Clifford Ndung’u Waititu who sat for CPE at Mbagathi Primary school in 1975,” he says.

Mr Waititu has vowed to unseat Mr Kabogo in next year’s elections turning them into fierce rivals and split the county’s politicians into two factions.

The drama between the two made its way to parliament after Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichungwa, perceived to be a supporter of Waititu, convinced the Administration and National Security Committee to summon the governor over allegations of sponsoring private militia to intimidate and harass MPs.

“My worry is that in the run-up to elections, if you allow impunity to reign, the 2007 and 2008 violence will look like a children’s dance,” Mr Ichungwa told parliament on Tuesday.

Mr Kabogo has however said he will defy Parliament’s orders terming them a political gimmick and a waste of time.