Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has begun defending himself in the KES 20 million graft case by naming ‘political detractors’ who did not want him to lead the capital county.
He alleged that retired President Uhuru Kenyatta interfered with the criminal case and with the High Court by ordering a sacked judge not to prohibit his impeachment.
Sonko told anti-corruption court magistrate Isabellah that former Judge Said Juma Chitembwe confided in him that the retired president called and directed him to dismiss the case he had filed to challenge his impeachment.
“Justice (Rtd) Chitembwe called me and he showed me communication with the retired president directing him not to grant the orders sought by me (Sonko) in the impeachment case,” Sonko told the court.
The former governor said he recorded his conversations with the former judge.
Sonko added that the former judge showed him a copy of the judgement he had drafted stopping his impeachment.
“In the ruling the judge had stated that my impeachment was improper as there was not enough quorum to pass the motion for my impeachment,” stated Sonko.
He added that the judge refused to let him take a copy of the judgement.
Sonko further said he was invited by the sacked judge to his Mountain View Estate city residence, where he was accompanied by National Security Intelligence personnel who masqueraded as lawyers so that the judge could feel comfortable.
“When we went to the judge’s residence he asked me to go to discuss in his bedroom,” Sonko averred.
The court heard that Sonko and Justice Chitembwe stayed in his bedroom for seven hours discussing various options on how to proceed with the impeachment case.
“When we went to his bedroom from the sitting room, we found his wife. He asked her to excuse us then we remained the two of us,” Sonko recalled.
He said the former judge showed him the ruling on impeachment which he was asked to destroy, allegedly by Mr Kenyatta.
Sonko said the judge was assisted by some lawyers sent from State House to write a fresh judgement which was delivered dismissing his plea to stop the impeachment.
The court heard that Chitembwe allegedly demanded some cash to see whether he could compromise the Court of Appeal, whose then president was Justice Daniel Musinga.
The court heard that Justice Musinga could not be compromised as he is “a born-again Christian who observed justice and never entertained any corruption.”
The magistrate was also told that Justice (Rtd) Chitembwe asked Sonko to avail him KES 10 million which was delivered in the form of USD by police to his chambers. He said police arrested him and another judge but only recovered the cash from the chambers of the judge who has since quit the judiciary.
“Since I was not involved in any matter before Justice Muchelule, I dealt with Justice Chitembwe,” Sonko said.
He said he recorded all the conversations he had with Justice (Rtd) Chitembwe. Sonko said the same recording was presented and played at the Judicial Service Commission’s proceedings against the former judge.
“I have all these recordings and I will play them before this court to prove what I am saying,” Sonko said.
At the same time, Sonko disclosed he was dumped by his lawyers and left to defend himself in the graft case at the instigation of State House.
Led in his sworn defence by lawyer Assa Nyakundi, Sonko told the court that the criminal case against him was engineered by State House after he declined to sign the budget that had been passed by the Nairobi County Assembly.
He testified that even though the former president was claiming in public that they were working together, all he wanted was for the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) to go through.
Sonko has denied the graft charges against him and is out on bond. Hearing continues.
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