This archive report was first published on 6 December 2019.
DPP Haji Orders Arrest of Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko ¶
On December 6, 2019, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Haji ordered the arrest and prosecution of Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko and several county employees over alleged graft.
The move follows a comprehensive investigation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), which uncovered numerous instances of criminal conduct and a general disregard of the law by the governor and others in charge.
According to DPP Haji, the investigation revealed that Governor Sonko and the accused persons put their interests first before the interests of the residents of Nairobi, constituting a clear and reprehensible abuse of public trust.
On September 3, 2019, Sonko was grilled at the EACC over alleged irregularities in garbage collection tenders worth over Ksh.160 million.
The Nairobi Governor Sonko had been summoned by the commission over graft claims in the awarding of tenders in the financial years 2017/2018 and 2018/2019.
This was after a report from the Nairobi County Assembly Public Accounts Committee revealed that Ksh.162 million paid to at least 11 contracted garbage collection firms could not be accounted for.
Should Governor Sonko be barred from accessing his office, questions would arise over who would act as governor, given the current situation in Nairobi.
Article 182 of the constitution provides that if a vacancy occurs in the office of county governor and that of deputy county governor, or if the deputy county governor is unable to act, the speaker of the county assembly shall act as county governor.
However, in this case, the speaker, Beatrice Elachi, was ousted from office on September 6, 2018, and has not presided over a sitting of the Assembly for over a year.
It remains to be seen how the situation will unfold in Nairobi City County.
