This archive report was first published on 30 June 2020.
On June 30, 2020, Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko's office in Upper Hill was stormed by 30 police officers in an attempt to evict him.
The officers were accompanied by investigators, but they were met with resistance from Sonko's supporters, who refused to let them in.
According to Jacob Elkana, Sonko's communications representative, the governor had opted to use the office after he was barred from accessing City Hall due to an ongoing graft case against him.
"In the morning, there were 30 policemen with the investigators who stormed the offices but were kicked out by the Governor's supporters," Elkana stated.
Elkana also revealed that Sonko was in the process of acquiring the contested land parcel after its sale was gazetted in 2017 and the governor showed interest.
The parcel was valued at Ksh500 million, but Sonko entered into an agreement to acquire it for Ksh498 million, making a downpayment of Ksh144.6 million.
The dispute over the land dates back to 2016, and the governor had expressed interest in acquiring the parcel with his counsel prepping for a court battle for its acquisition.
"There was a dispute in 2016, the governor was on that land. In 2017, he started to apply to Kenya Railway to buy the land," Elkana said.
"In 2019, he started paying for the land and he is almost completing after it was gazetted that it was being sold. Where were those agencies that long and why now?" he questioned.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) opened investigations into the controversial land in 2019, and the commission was also interested in pursuing the governor's source of income that he used to settle the downpayment for the parcel.
