Mike Sonko
Former Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko has been acquitted of corruption charges relating to the loss of funds in tender procurement at City Hall.
Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti in his ruling on Wednesday, December 21 stated that the charges could not be proven.
“I find that the prosecution has failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. The entire case against all accused persons collapses under section 210 Criminal Procedure Code (CPC); they are now all acquitted,” he stated.
Sonko was in 2019 charged with conspiracy to defraud the Nairobi county government of approximately Ksh 20 million alongside businessman Antony Ombok.
The former Governor was also accused of Ksh 357 million from City Hall.
Magistrate Ogoti, on the other hand, confirmed that all 13 graft charges filed by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) against Sonko and Jamal were invalid.
Ogoti pointed out that the ODPP had failed to present evidence to identify the companies allegedly involved in the graft.
He also stated that no money was stolen from Nairobi County because no evidence was presented in court to that effect.
Speaking shortly after the ruling Mike Sonko implied that the case was a political smear campaign to remove him from office.
“Someone wanted to take control of Nairobi and made up charges to remove me from office, but God has proven them wrong,” Sonko said.
He also expressed confidence that the rest of his charges would be dropped in the near future, claiming that the witch-hunt had caused him a lot of pain.
“I’d like to ask Kenyans to keep praying for me so that the remaining cases are also dropped because you all know what we went through while in leadership,” Sonko added.
Sonko is also facing additional charges of money laundering, accepting bribes, and conflict of interest, all of which contributed to his impeachment as Nairobi County governor in 2020.
Also Read: Mike Sonko Asks President Ruto to Give Raila Odinga a State Job
