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I Was Getting Up To Sh80M Bribes In Cash Daily, Sonko Exposes City Hall’s Corruption

Sonko says the county could make up to Sh300 million daily collections but only about Sh50 million would end up in the accounts with the rest getting looted.

Published

7 months ago

April 30, 2024

Kenya Insights Team

Former Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko has revealed how much he was getting paid in bribes from county revenue collection office during his tenure.

In an interview on a local podcast, the former Governor said he could get up to Sh80 million depending on the day’s collection going to show how deeply corruption is entrenched in the city’s administration.

Sonko said the bribe took him by shock as it came from his financial officers and was meant to buy his silence as they embarked on wanton looting. He said the trend rose his curiosity and he made the mistake of reporting this to Statehouse not knowing it would mark the beginning of his troubles as the governor.

“I used to get around Sh50 million and this used to come daily, it could even go up to Sh80 million depending on the day’s collection. I realized that the county was making a lot of money but much was getting lost to corruption so I went to report it to former President Uhuru my boss and he even called President Ruto (his deputy then) to get my story,”

“I only didn’t know I was going to dig my own grave. I had given them the clearest hint that Nairobi had money, and later Statehouse could come after me,”

Sonko says the county could make up to Sh300 million daily collections but only about Sh50 million would end up in the accounts with the rest getting looted.

following his meeting with the president, they planned to lay a trap to arrest the people behind the looting and he got wired by an intelligence operative he mentions as Mr. Mburu to get the perpetrators in action.

“They put wires on me to record all the guys when they bring the money. I recorded them the next day when they brought the money and it went on, they could bring at a times Sh50M, Sh60M even up to Sh80m and all was in cash,” He said.

Sonko then took the evidence back to Statehouse and after ascertaining, a decision was then made to digitize the revenue collection.

A trap was then laid to arrest the city hall officers behind the scheme and eventually they were caught in action by EACC and DCI officers. Sonko says he still has the video clips of the entire operation while claiming his innocence.

“I was trying to help fight corruption, I reported everything to the boss, how things turned around and my reputation tainted as the most corrupt leading to my impeachment I still don’t understand.” He said.

“But I was fixed with corruption cases and in which I’ve been vindicated and very soon Kenyans will know the truth as to how all this happened.” He added.

Sonko’s impeachment

Mr Sonko was elected as Governor of the Nairobi City County during the 2017 general elections for a term of five years.

On assumption of office, he served as Governor until December 17, 2020 when he was removed from office by way of impeachment.

Passing the resolution to remove him from office, the Senate found him guilty of plundering public resources, persistently intimidating and molesting officers of the County Executive Committee and unlawfully using public fund to pay for his daughter’s travel to New York, USA.

He was also found guilty of charges of persistently and wilfully using, publicizing and publishing abusive and unbecoming words and language as evidenced by his social media posts.

Further that he made numerous rants in which he hailed abuses and conducted himself in a manner that undermines and demeans the office of the Governor.

In a separate interview, Mr Sonko accused former President Uhuru of being behind his ouster. He said his removal from office and that of Kiambu governor Mr Ferdinand Waitutu was because they were not on good terms with the last regime.

“My impeachment and that of Waititu were politically instigated because we differed with former President Uhuru. The system introduced Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS), and when I refused to sign for transfer of funds to NMS – because there was no law empowering us to do so – I was impeached,” Sonko said.

He also claimed that his impeachment did not meet the required threshold since the assembly lacked the number after he allegedly took 65 MCAs to Kwale on the voting day. Mr Sonko was impeached after 88 MCAs out of 122 voted in favour of his removal.

East African Court of Justice

Sonko is challenging his impeachment in the East African Court of Justice based in Arusha.

In July 2022, Sonko filed an application before the East African Court of Justice seeking to suspend implementation of the Supreme Court decision that upheld his impeachment.

He says the decision of the Supreme Court and courts of Kenya was arrived at in an unjust manner.

Its effect, Sonko said, is to curtail his political rights and the people he represents.

He said the Presiding Judge at the High court who rendered the decision was then currently facing a disciplinary tribunal over his removal as a result of receiving bribes and influencing the decision that resulted in his removal from office.

Sonko wants the EAC court to suspend the execution of the decision by the Apex court pending a hearing and determination of the application.

Part of the complaint before the tribunal, he says, is that Chitembwe was biased and mischievous in the manner in which he handled his impeachment case.

“The determination of the proceedings before the tribunal will have a bearing on the challenged judgment of the high court culminating in this appeal,” Sonko said.

Sonko says it’s only fair if the Supreme court judgement is reviewed or set aside and heard under the circumstance that the conduct of Chitembwe would be considered.

Currently, Johnson Sakaja is faced with similar corruption allegations pointing at a traditional trend. Evans Kidero, the initial city’s boss still battles corruption cases from his days in office to date.

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