Nairobi’s governor has pleaded not guilty to corruption and other economic crimes. Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko, who was arrested on Friday, is accused of conspiracy to commit corruption, failure to comply with laws related to procurement, as well as unlawful acquisition of public property and laundering the proceeds of crime.
The flamboyant and controversial governor Sonko appeared before anti-corruption court on Monday facing charges of misappropriating at least 3.52 million US Dollars.
He is a member of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s ruling Jubilee party, but President Kenyatta has warned that he will crack the whip on corrupt officials.
Sonko however insists his arrest is politically motivated. He was elected governor in 2017. He joins a growing list of Kenyan public officials facing corruption charges.
The East African nation is ranked amongst the most corrupt in the world. Earlier, Police in the Kenyan capital sealed off a court building where the governor of Nairobi County was due to be charged with corruption and other economic crimes, guarding against threatened protests by his supporters.
