Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko’s woes deepen as Shimo la Tewa Prison responds to EACC

Embattled Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko’s woes deepened after Shimo la Tewa Prison with news that could see the governor behind bars, bringing his reign at the helm of the county to an end.

Sunday Nation on 24 November 2019 reported that authorities at the correctional facility now want the governor to complete his remaining sentence which ended prematurely after he escaped from prison in 1999.

According to the publication,Shimo la Tewa Prison, while responding to the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC), maintained that Sonko Sonko alias Mbuvi Gideon Kioko should not only serve the pending sentence, but also should be charged for the offense of escaping from prison.

Prison records reveal that Sonko was was convicted on 12 March 1998 for failing to attend court (CF 675/97 and CF 1727/96) and was sentenced to six months in prison for each offences with the option of pay Ksh200,000 and Ksh 500, 000.

File image of Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko at EACC HQ Pulse Live Kenya

Unable to pay the fine, Sonko was taken to Shimo la Tewa Prison to serve his sentence and was booked in under prison number P/No. SHO/477/1998.

He was scheduled to be released on March 11, 1999 upon the completion of his custodial sentence.

Escape from Prison

Barely a month later on 16 April 1998, Sonko appeared to have mysteriously left the facility in questionable circumstances that have now landed him in trouble.

His name would surface again on 15 November 2000 when the officer in charge of Industrial Area Remand Prison sent a signal to his Shimo la Tewa counterpart that Sonko had been remanded awaiting other criminal offences.

Transfer to Kamiti

Sonko would then be labeled as a dangerous criminal transferred to Kamiti Maximum Prison and booked in under prison number KAM/1255/001.

Sonko’s previous criminal records saw EACC register a complaint on 19 Sep 2019 and launch investigations.

File image of embattled governor Mike Sonko Pulse Live Kenya

In an affidavit filed in court in Miscellaneous Cause No. 326 of 2019, the commission maintains that Sonko went against the constitution by failing to declare his past criminal records in the self-declaration form.

“That the first interested party, Hon Mike Mbuvi Sonko failed to disclose this information in the self-declaration form wherein one of the moral questions was: “Have you ever been convicted of any offence and sentenced to serve imprisonment for a period of at least six months?” reads the affidavit in part.