The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), on Tuesday, July 21, handed over Nairobi Governor's official mansion to Mike Sonko.
Sharing a clip of his tour on social media, the governor noted that he had officially received the property situated in Lavington which housed former Nairobi Mayors before the position was scrapped in 2013.
In the video, Sonko, accompanied by a handful of other men, is seen surveying the property which was largely unkempt with a black gate.
It was also fenced by a live fence intertwined with a chain-link. Inside the compound are a number of trees and a gazebo.
"Today I have taken possession of the Governor's Official Residence in Lavington, Nairobi. The residence was returned to the Nairobi County Government by the EACC following its recovery after it had been grabbed.
"It was previously the official residence of the Mayor of Nairobi and most former mayors lived here," celebrated Sonko.
Woes on the parcel of land dates back to 2003, according to a report by The Standard, after City Hall claimed that a former minister was at the center of the saga.
Then mayor, Joe Aketch claimed that a former cabinet minister, who had served in the late President Daniel Moi's regime, had grabbed the parcel.
The mansion is located along Joseph Gathanju Road, Nairobi.
In 2018, the property was also at the center of a debate after Nairobi Speaker Beatrice Elachi was seeking to refurbish the property over budgetary constraints.
At the time, then-Majority Leader Abdi Guyo had explained that the county did not have enough money to construct a new house.
“We are now urging the executive to surrender the former residence of the mayor so we can turn it into the speaker’s residence,” he stated at the time.
Below is the video:
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