Mr. Haji announced to the world that the governor was wanted in connection to the loss of Sh357 million ($3.57 million) of county funds. Less than what City Hall’s revenue department, collected in the month of June (Sh502 million).
“I have found sufficient evidence to warrant prosecution and l have therefore ordered for the immediate arrest and arraignment in court of the Governor of Nairobi Hon Mike Mbuvi Sonko and other persons for the crimes of conflict of interest arising from having received monies from the County of Nairobi whilst serving as Governor, unlawful acquisition of public property, money laundering and other economic crimes,” said the DPP in his early morning press briefing beamed live on local television.
The DPP was acting on the recommendation of detectives from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) who claim to have found sufficient evidence to warrant his prosecution.
The detectives caught up with him at a road block in Voi en route to Mombasa.
“EACC confirms that Nairobi City County Governor Mike Sonko Mbuvi has been arrested while escaping arrest at a road block in Voi and is being transferred to Nairobi to face charges of corruption and economic crime,” read the tweet from EACC.
After the arrest, the government agency went on a public relations overdrive patting its own back on how it had averted a whopping loss of Kshs.135.7 Billion of Kenyans taxpayer money by recovering public Assets acquired through corruption worth Kshs. 22.6 Billion.
Sonko would later release a bold statement insisting he can’t wait to get back to his normal life. He termed the whole arrest a charade and DPP Noording Haji's order as choreographed lies.
"I have read word by word the statement from the DPP that details reasons for my arrest and nothing gives me more confidence than leafing through it, knowing very well we have the facts to dismantle this choreographed lies," he said.
"I assure everyone that I shall not be intimidated and won’t be moved an inch into some political traps," he continued.
As for escaping, the governor once escaped from Shimo La Tewa Prison, Mombasa in 1998 only to be re-arrested a year later, said he fears no one notwithstanding that he caused quite a scene when he was nabbed. He nearly knocked out the wind from a few ill-trained Kenyan police officers desperate to snap some handcuffs on him to serve as his latest ‘bling’.
"Why would l run away? To where and to do what? I am a Kenyan who is always on the move doing what's good for the people," he said.
He was airlifted from Ikanga Airstrip to Nairobi and is currently in police custody pending bail ruling on Monday.
The flamboyant governor, however, isn’t the only one in the firing line, he got quite a company with him.
Nairobi county secretary Peter Mbugua, members of the county tender committee Patrick Mwangangi, Samuel Ndung’u, Edwin Kariuki, Lawrence Mwangi, Preston Miriti are just but a few on the ‘notorious’ list.
Business Insider SSA decided to uneathe some key information of just who Mike Sonko is.
Sonko is the current Governor of Nairobi County serving his first term in office. He was elected in 2017 - 2022.
Before assuming the mantle of ‘the city in the sun’ currently resembling a dirt pond he was the first senator of Nairobi from 2013 - 2017 having won by a landslide.
He Joined city politics in 2010 when he was elected as a Member of Parliament for Makadara Constituency, in Nairobi Kenya.
Prior to joining politics, Mike Sonko was heavily invested in the Kenya’s rogue matatu industry where he say he made quite a kill with his eight flashy matatus plying the busy Jogoo Road route. He operated matatus in Dandora and Umoja from 1994 to 1997.
In May 2019, the governor who doesn’t shy away from showing his opulence said he is worth more than the county’s Sh38 billion annual budget.
“I’m worth more than the annual budget of Nairobi and I’ve got some fixed deposit accounts about USD5 million in different banks. And I put this money even way back before I became an MP from the proceeds which I used to get. I always put money where the money is I don’t have to announce where I get my profits from if I buy a property at 10 million after 10 years I can sell that property at a profit because the value of profits appreciates every day,” he bragged in an interview on NTV’s Sidebar Show while responding to claims of misuse of public funds leveled against him.
Mr. Sonko has been married three times but his first two wives have since died.
His current wife who doubles up as Nairobi County first lady is called Primrose Mbuvi. Together they have three daughters namely; Saumu, Salma and Sandra.
She had earlier posted emojis showing that she was praying for her dad, in one of her insta-stories.
Nothing is known about his immediate family and its not known whether he has any brothers and sisters.
