Details have emerged about President Uhuru Kenyatta's phone calls that are suspected to have ambushed Sonko and one of his staffers into surrendering Key duties of Nairobi County to the National Government.
According to a report by Daily Nation, the governor reportedly received a call from State House Comptroller Kinuthia Mbugua with a clear message that Uhuru wanted to see him in 15 minutes.
The publication further indicated that Sonko, at the time, was planning to host a section of the county's MCAs in connection with his looming impeachment.
Quoting sources, Nation noted that Sonko was surprised by the call which reportedly came in at around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, February 25.
“He wasn’t really prepared for the meeting. In fact, he had to quickly dress up on his way to State House,” stated a source.
At the same time, Sonko's Urban Planning Chief Officer Justus Kathenge, who was preparing to report to the county assembly, received a similar call which ordered him to a petrol station in Nairobi where he was reportedly driven to State House.
People Daily noted that Uhuru was allegedly furious with the governor's decision to demote former Urban Planning Chief Officer Leboo ole Morintat.
When Kathenge arrived at State House, he reportedly made his way to a room where he found Uhuru, Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa, Sonko, Morintat and other senior officials.
Before them, was a document that was later signed by Sonko and Eugene surrendering a section of Nairobi County duties to the national government. The document allegedly listed Morintat and Kathenge as witnesses.
"Nobody was in the picture. We never saw it coming and even the boss (Sonko) never talked about it to any of us,” Nation quoted another source.
Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen, on Wednesday, February 26, however, argued that the decision to surrender key county functions to the national government was an affront to the people of Kenya and the residents of Nairobi many of who were questioning its constitutionality, legality and the resultant effect on service delivery.
The Elgeyo Marakwet senator said State House’s reference to Article 187 as the guiding law for the transfer of the functions was a futile attempt to cleanse a flawed process.