Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu on Wednesday dominated media headlines for all the wrong reasons after his wife was arrested for allegedly engaging in illegal constructions.

The arrest, however, was surrounded in mystery and appeared to have been a minor offence on the part of Waititu’s wife, Susan Ndung’u.

Susan had been supervising repairs at a multi-storey building located along Koinange Street.

Waititu had recently bought the Sh250 million property from Jamii Bora Bank – who are also part of the tenants.

City County officers arrested the Kiambu First Lady, and fourteen of her employees after they were found to have occupied the building without an occupation certificate.

In a phone conversation allegedly leaked by Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, the arrest appeared to have been orchestrated with the purpose of punishing Waititu after he expressed opposition to the demolition of buildings sitting on riparian land.

“Hiyo ni order from above, mimi nawachilia mama amevunja sheria, hiyo order haitoki kwangu, inatoka kwa mdosi huko juu, pigia mdosi (The order came from above. I will release your wife but she has broken the law, the order is not from me. It has come from the top, call the boss)”.

“Wewe pia usiropokwe ropokwe, unaona boss anapigana na corruption na wewe unasema ati wacheni pererere corrpution unajua hiyo itakupiga (You should also stop making reckless statements. The boss is fighting corruption and you are shouting he should stop, you know they will fight you),” Sonko says in the leaked conversation.

In a subsequent recording with Waititu’s wife, the Kiambu First Lady is heard insisting that she had paid for all the necessary approvals and calls upon Sonko to release her casual labourers.