The day Sonko went all abusive after rubbishing reports of a fallout with Igathe

david nganga

January 13, 2018 11:48 AM

"Nyinyi MASHOGA...stop your cheap blackmail"

Polycarp Igathe shocked Kenyans on Friday after stepping down as Nairobi Deputy Governor which came as the height of months of frosty relations with his boss Mike Sonko.

In his resignation letter, Igathe said he called it quits after failing to earn the trust of the Governor to enable him drive the administration and management of the county.

“Dear Nairobians, it is with a heavy heart that I resign as elected deputy governor of Nairobi County effective 1pm on 31st Jan 2018. I regret I have failed to earn the trust of the Governor to enable me to drive the administration and management of the county.”

Igathe, a corporate honcho who had been picked from Vivo Energy as CEO, was seen as a balancing force to the flamboyant Sonko. He was tasked with being the face of modern corporate governance by which Nairobi would be run while Sonko would run all the city's political affairs.

Friday's resignation brought to fore a culmination of months of unease in relations with his boss even though Sonko has time and again rubbished reports of any fall out with his deputy.

Interesting enough, it's been one month since Sonko last unleashed evidence of his supposed cordial relationship with his deputy and when the former Vivo CEO resigned.

On December 14, 2017, a local newspaper reported that the two were not at good terms as State House took charge of Nairobi City Hall.

Sonko was seemingly not happy with the article and took to Facebook to lash out at the daily while using vulgar language in defending his relationship with Igathe.

He even unleashed a couple of Whatsapp texts to vindicate his statement which is now turning out to be a 'PR gimmick.'

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The governor later went rogue and threw tackles at everyone who gave negative comments.

It remains to be seen what will be Sonko's next move after Igathe's resignation even though the law is unclear on what happens when there’s a vacancy in the deputy governor’s office.

david nganga