Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko 'disguised' his daughter as a county administrator and used taxpayers' Sh600,000 to fly her first class to the US, senators heard on Wednesday.
While in the US, she spent Sh60,000 to fly to Philadelphia and another Sh120,000 to visit a tourist site, all at the expense of the county, MCAs told the Senate.
Senators will hear Sonko's impeachment defence on Thursday and vote whether to uphold MCAs' impeachment vote and remove him from office,
They laid out their case on Wednesday after Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka refused to throw out the case, in a major blow to embattled Sonko. He rejected Sonko's claim the case was sub judice and MCAs had violated procedure in their impeachment vote.
The governor, through lead lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui, discounted all allegations and questioned the authenticity and admissibility of the evidence adduced by the MCAs
He claimed the documents were not certified, nor was an affidavit sworn as to their authenticity.
In yet another setback for Sonko, Lusaka allowed the MCAs to summon three more witnesses to testify against the governor. They had sought to be allowed to summon 11 witnesses including the commissioner general of Prisons and the governor himself.
“The Senate can only make a fair determination having heard the evidence on both sides. This is the essence of this investigation," the speaker ruled on Sonko’s application to strike out the case.
He added, “This investigation before the Senate is both in respect of procedural as well as substantive matters.”
Lusaka ruled that sub judice is not an absolute rule for the Senate as stipulated by Standing Order 98 (5). The governor had argued some of the grounds leveled against him involve active cases in court.
In their case, the ward representatives portrayed Sonko as a rogue, erratic and an extravagant plunderer of public resources. They accused him of myriad wrongdoings they said warrant his removal from office.
“We are having a case of a governor gone rogue. The governor is not fit to continue holding this office. The governor has not only abrogated Chapter 6 on Leadership and Integrity but has also fragrantly behaved himself in a manner contemptuous of the sovereignty of the people of Kenya,” MCAs’ lead lawyer Ndegwa Njiru said.
But the county boss dismissed the allegations as hollow, flimsy, inaccurate and malicious. He said he was the victim of a witch-hunt.
Through lead lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui, Sonko urged the senators to throw out the case, arguing that it does not meet the threshold of removing him from office.
“What is masked as an impeachment trial is in fact a political witch-hunt and unfair trial which cannot be validated introspectively or retrospectively. It is dead on arrival,” Kinyanjui told the lawmakers.
Embakasi MCA Michael Ogada, the sponsor of the impeachment motion and the assembly’s first witness, described what he termed as the governor’s extravagance, chaotic and erratic leadership style and misdeeds that have dragged down the city’s progress.
The session was characterised by points of order raised by senators allied to Deputy President William Ruto.
Ogada played video and audio clips, some showing the governor hurling abuses and uttering unprintable words that prompted some senators to demand the clips be played in camera.
They claimed Sonko diverted Sh622 million sent to the county by the Road Levy Fund Board to maintain city roads. As a result, the board has stopped disbursing further cash to the county government, leaving roads dilapidated, they said.
In addition, Sonko stopped payment of fees for about 3,000 orphans whom the previous administration was supporting in various schools, they said. The governor, they said, diverted Sh297 million meant for bursaries but the same was used to pay lawyers.
“He said he could not continue paying for Luos and Luhyas. It became touching to some of us. These children have now dropped out of school,” Ogada said.
His comments triggered a fierce reaction from governor’s lawyers who objected that the allegation was not captured in the papers they were served with.
Citing his daughter's supposed trip the US, the MCAs claimed Sonko had described her as a ward administrator and flew her to New York for Sh600,000.
“On the same trip, apart from flying first class, the daughter was hired a chopper at Sh220,000 to go around New York to see how beautiful the city was. She went ahead to have an offside party at a cost of Sh260,000 using public funds,” Ogada said.
While in the US, the daughter flew to Philadelphia for Sh60,000 and visited a tourist site where she spent Sh120,000, he said She was accompanied by journalists who each pocketed Sh120,000 in per diem, senators were told.
Ogada sought to demonstrate that the governor abused county executives, disrespected his fellow leaders, especially women, and crippled county operations by declining to sign the budget.
“The only thing I can do is to request this House to rise to the occasion and ensure devolution is defended,” he said.
Former Education executive Janet Ouko, assembly Minority Chief Whip Peter Imwatok and his deputy Moses Ogeto all testified against Sonko.
Edited by Henry Makori