Mbuvi Gideon Kioko Wam Mike Sonko commonly known as Mike Sonko or simply Sonko, is a Kenyan politician who served as the second Governor of Nairobi since devolution.
Mike Sonko rose to national political prominence when he was elected as the Member of Parliament for Makadara Constituency, Kenya at the age of 35. The September 20, 2010 by-election was occasioned by a successful petition by Reuben Ndolo. After the inauguration of the new constitution of Kenya in 2010 and the creation of the county governments, Sonko announced his intention to run for Senator in Nairobi County. He became the First Senator of Nairobi after it was announced that, with 808,705 votes, he beat his closest competitor, Margaret Wanjiru of the Orange Democratic Movement, who had garnered 525,822 votes, in the Nairobi senatorial election of 2013. Unlike his time in parliament, where he gained notoriety for flaunting House Rules, including incidences of inappropriate dressing, the Senator mostly dressed in official attire. During his time in the Senate, he formed the Sonko Rescue Team, an officially registered Non-Governmental Organization that provided government-like services to residents of Nairobi slums. The then governor of Nairobi County, Dr. Evans Kidero opposed the activities of the group, citing conflict of interests with the county government's operations. The Senator acquiesced and donated the vehicles to the county government after several weeks of tense public exchanges.
Nairobi Governor
As early as , Mike Sonko had announced his intentions to run for Governor of Nairobi County in the 2017 Kenyan general election. After a grueling primary campaign against Peter Kenneth, Sonko ran for the Gubernatorial seat for Nairobi County with the Jubilee Party of Kenya and defeated the incumbent Evans Kidero to become the second Governor of Nairobi.
Remarkable event(s)
After the Westgate shopping mall attack in September 2013, Sonko claimed that he had warned the security services of a possible attack three months prior to the incident. Sonko is rumoured to have broken out of prison in 1998 and recently, officials have called for him to complete his term. Awarded Honorary Doctorate Nairobi governor Mike Sonko received an honorary degree of excellence from European Digital University on Wednesday, August 7, 2019 in recognition for his good will and contribution to the community.
Corruption Charges
On the 6th of December 2019, the Director of Public Prosecutions in Kenya issued an arrest warrant against Mike Sonko for various corruption charges during his tenure as Governor. He was arrested in Voi. After the arrest, he was detained at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison for a few days and released on December 11, 2019 by anti-corruption court for a bond of sh30 million or a surety of the same amount or a cash bail of Sh15 million . As a condition for the release, he was barred from accessing office of Nairobi County governor until the case is determined.
