Sonko Freed In Ksh357 Million Graft Case, Five Years Later

Former Nairobi Governor, Mike Sonko and 16 others can breathe a sigh of relief after they were acquitted in a case relating to the alleged misappropriation of funds amounting to Ksh357 million belonging to the Nairobi county government.

Milimani Magistrate Eunice Nyutu released the former county boss and the 16 co-accused, ruling on Wednesday, February 7 that there was no evidence adduced by the prosecution to show that they conspired to embezzle the aforementioned funds.

She added that the evidence was weak and could not be relied on to convict.

"After carefully considering the testimony of six witnesses, the evidence adduced is inadequate to sustain the charges levelled against the accused persons," Nyutu ruled.

Former Nairobi Mike Mbuvi Sonko before anti-corruption senior principal magistrate Eunice Nyutu during the ruling of his corruption case on February 7, 2024. /THE STAR

"The prosecution only managed to call six witnesses before they bungled up their case," she added against an earlier indication that the case was built around the testimonies of 38 witnesses.

The case which has been in court since 2019 has seen Sonko accused with 16 others of misusing public resources while he served as Nairobi governor. 

Together with a private liability company, Sonko and others were accused of embezzling cash to the tune of Ksh357 million meant for projects of the Nairobi County Government. 

The embezzling was alleged to have happened between May 24, 2018 and March 28, 2019, before Mike Sonko's impeachment as Governor on December 3, 2020. 

The prosecution had managed to call only six witnesses with the prime witness testifying for a year. The trial took off in 2021 following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Magistrate expressed her frustrations brought about by the DPP who she said has on several times sought an adjournment in the case.

"It's tragic that a prosecution can lose sight of a case. The conduct by prosecution in this case reeks of neglect of duty," she said.

She took issue with the prosecution for failing to conduct the case in a manner that promotes public interest and public good.

To cure this defect, the Magistrate said Parliament ought to develop regulations to make prosecutors accountable for how they conduct public cases and hold them accountable for negligence.

Sonko was accused by former Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji of misusing Ksh357 million from City Hall, among other corruption allegations which prompted the United States (US) to ban Sonko and his family from travelling to the American nation.

Furthermore, the corruption cases meant that Sonko was unable to vie for Mombasa Governor in the 2022 general elections.

Nonetheless, this marks the second multimillion-shilling graft case that Mike Sonko was acquitted of. 

In December 2022, an Anti-Corruption Court acquitted Sonko over a Ksh20 million graft case ruling that the prosecution had failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. 

Former Nairobi Governor, Mike Sonko. /FILE