Queen's Special Envoy Flies to Nairobi For Sonko

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, was on Monday, December 2, honoured with a Commendation Seal from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Director General Victoria Wallace.

Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, through his communication director, Jacob Elkana, the governor expressed his gratitude over the recognition.

"Our discussions focused on the role of the county government in protecting the 38 gazetted war grave sites in Nairobi that remain an important part of our history as a city and a nation," Sonko stated.

The move to honour the governor was largely influenced by his valiant move to reclaim a section of the Kariokor Cemetary that had been occupied by squatters on October 2019.

Victoria Wallace, the Director-General of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission hands Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko a special commendation seal, December 2.

Wallace thanked Sonko's administration for the support they accorded the commission in recovering part of the historic cemetary land.

The famous grave site contains 59 Commonwealth burials from the Second World War, three of which are unidentified.

It is located in the Kariokor district of Nairobi about 2 kilometres north-east of the city centre, directly across Kariokor Market.

The area got its unique name from the mispronunciation of 'Carrier Corps' - a special regiment created during World War 1 to provide military labour to support the East African Campaign against the German military forces led by Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck.

It consisted of a conscripted African labour force and the recruitment and pay centre was at a place that soon became known as Kariokor.

In February 15, 2018, Sonko established a team to fight land grabbing cartels in the capital.

The team’s mandate was to prevent grabbing and repossess county land that has ended up into private hands under shady deals. 

A section of Kariokor Cemetery, Nairobi.
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