Gov Sonko Attacks City Lawmakers in Angry Rant

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko speaking during the JKlive show on March 4, 2020.
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko speaking during the JKlive show on March 4, 2020.
Twitter

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has dismissed the minority and majority leaders in the Nairobi County Assembly over their assurances that they would continue with county oversight even after the formation of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services.

In a statement on his social media platforms on Tuesday, March 24, Sonko rubbished the sentiments by Charles Thuo (Majority Leader) and David Mberia (Minority Leader) who he accused of being the face of corruption in the county.

He questioned how the MCAs were planning to conduct oversight when so many things went wrong while they were in a position of power and they did nothing about it.

"The two aforementioned MCAs are emerging as part and parcel of the cartels that frustrated the reorganization of the Finance and Economic Planning Department since December 2019.

"It is until only last Friday, March 20, when the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) finally effected the new changes upon the advisory of the Office of the Attorney General through the Solicitor General," he wrote.

Nairobi County Assembly Majority Leader Charles Thuo addresses members of the press at City Hall, Nairobi, on December 16, 2019.
Nairobi County Assembly Majority Leader Charles Thuo addresses members of the press at City Hall, Nairobi, on December 16, 2019.
File

Sonko further accused the two leaders of being among the people who allegedly benefited from illicit and criminal payments made by officers who had long ceased to work for the Nairobi City County Government.

This, he stated, was evidenced by cases currently under investigation by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Banking Fraud Investigations Unit (BFI).

Sonko further alleged that the two leaders were speaking on behalf of cartels who either got paid illegally or had lodged fake claims with the county and were seeking payment for services not rendered.

"What we are witnessing today are cries of a bitter and cornered lot who collected money from suppliers and contractors with promises of facilitating their payments, and now they are stranded since the changes of signatory mandates at the CBK," he wrote.

He further accused the two of being embroiled in the embezzlement of bursary funds and stealing from contractors, a matter that he alleged his administration brought to an end hence the bad blood between him and the MCAs in question.

"It is these cartels that the President mentioned in his address on Wednesday, March 18, during the hand-over ceremony at State House. The people who have been working tirelessly to sink Nairobi deeper into a crisis as long as they line their pockets," he pointed out.

He moved to assure suppliers that he was still in charge of the county contrary to what was being alleged by the MCAs, and that he enjoyed a cordial working relationship despite the arrangement that saw the formation of the Nairobi Metropolitan services.

Minority whip Peter Imwatok and mjority leader David Mberia address the media at the Nairobi county assembly on March 3, 2020
Minority whip Peter Imwatok (left) and leader of the majority David Mberia address the media at the Nairobi County Assembly on March 3, 2020
File

"I wish to urge the two MCAs to desist from invoking names just for purposes of sounding juicy and attractive, including that of the new Director-General of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services Office.

"As it stands, the transition is going on smoothly and we have a cordial working relationship with Major General Mohamed Abdalla Abdi. We, therefore, do not require the disruption of idlers who are struggling to resuscitate their near-dead political careers, since their cheap blackmail has no place in the new Nairobi," he concluded.

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