This archive report was first published on 6 December 2019.
On December 6, 2019, Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko was arrested in Voi, marking a dramatic turn of events in his tenure as the county chief.
According to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Sonko was caught while attempting to escape arrest at a roadblock in Voi. He was subsequently flown to Wilson Airport in Nairobi, where he was to be arraigned in court on graft-related charges.
Contrary to claims by Sonko's office that he did not resist arrest, EACC confirmed that the governor had indeed resisted police efforts to handcuff him. A video shared widely online showed Sonko being forced into a police helicopter at the Ikanga airstrip in Taita Taveta.
As per EACC, Sonko is accused of being at the center of a scandal involving the embezzlement of public funds totaling KES 357.4 million. He, along with eight other City Hall officials, is accused of conflict of interest, having facilitated and/or benefited from irregular procurement and payments amounting to KES 357,390,299.
