Why Sonko's political comeback sparks curiosity

Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko in his private Nairobi. [File, Standard]

Gideon Kioko Mbuvi, popularly known as ‘Mike Sonko’, is plotting a comeback in the political scene following the registration of the National Economic Development Party (NEDP), of which he is going to serve as the Party Leader.

Sonko has been in the political cold after being impeached in December 2020 in what has now been termed a political witch-hunt, with Senators admitting last week that his was among those impeachments that did not meet the threshold but were pushed through for political reasons.

It will be interesting to watch whether Sonko, now with his own political party, will be able to navigate the country’s political terrain and find his space at the political high table as the country gears up for the 2027 general election, which is expected to be hotly contested.

“We are out to set up a movement that will help us form the next government, with our foundation being economic transformation, development and upgrading of the livelihoods of all Kenyans. This is the party to watch as we head to the next general election,” said Sonko.

The former Governor, who received a certificate of registration for the newly formed party from the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties in Nairobi on Tuesday, said that this will be the party to watch since it will embrace all Kenyans irrespective of their tribes.

Party leadership includes: Naomi Masai (Deputy Party Leader), Anthony Manyara (Deputy Party Leader), Dr John Nyamu (National Chairperson), Rashid Minyonga (Deputy Chairperson), Nancy Muchani (Deputy Chairperson), Benard Mulwa (Secretary General), and Daniel Onsomu as the Executive Director.

Makueni Senator Daniel Maanzo welcomed the decision by Sonko to have his own party, stating that he was a national leader popular across the country, and it was public knowledge that he was illegally hounded out of office as the Nairobi Governor for political reasons.

“Sonko will one day be vindicated since there was a scheme to destroy him politically because he was very popular across the country, which was executed through an impeachment process that did not meet the threshold but was pushed through by the powers that be at the time,” said Maanzo.

The Senator, who served as one of Sonko’s advocates as he sought to be cleared by IEBC to vie for the Mombasa Governorship seat in the last general election, said the former Governor will get justice soon since some Members of County Assemblies have sworn affidavits stating that they did not vote to impeach him.

Maanzo dismissed claims that Sonko was out to eat into the support base that Wiper Patriotic Front Leader Kalonzo Musyoka enjoys in Machakos, Makueni, Kitui, Mombasa and Kwale counties to the advantage of Ruto, saying that was not true at all.

The Makueni Senator said that Sonko, just like any other national leader, was free to fight for his political space and should not be denied that chance wrongly, as happened when he was kicked out of office by some powerful individuals threatened by his rising star.

Strategic Communication Advisor Barack Muluka said that Sonko has been a marginalised politician who is now out to claim his rightful space in the political arena and is currently spoiling for relevance by having a political outfit that he controls doing his bidding.

“Sonko is fighting for his space, and he would definitely not mind working with either Ruto or Kalonzo but will definitely go for someone offering him a better deal. That is why he is keen on having a political vehicle that he controls, which will work well for him,” said Muluka.

He said that Sonko has proven to be a great mobiliser and one of the few politicians who can get votes from any part of the country, having served as Nairobi Senator and Governor, and would definitely have been elected as the Mombasa Governor had he not been stopped by the courts.

The former Nairobi Governor revisited his long-running dispute with Chief Justice Martha Koome, accusing her of bias in his impeachment appeal and questioning the Judicial Service Commission’s (JSC) delay in acting on his petition for her removal from office.

Sonko claimed that the Chief Justice had made premeditated remarks about his impeachment long before his Supreme Court case was heard and said such conduct undermined judicial impartiality and should not be allowed in a democratic nation like Kenya.

“It is very clear that the Supreme Court rushed my case, and the East African Court of Justice confirmed that my impeachment was unfair. A leader can only be locked out after exhausting all avenues of appeal, which did not happen in my case,” said Sonko.

The former Governor had shifted his political base from Nairobi to Mombasa a few months before the 2022 general election, where he threatened to cause an upset in the political arithmetic in the coastal city, managing to attract a huge following due to his philanthropic activities.

Sonko met his political Waterloo in June 2022 after the IEBC Dispute Resolution Committee upheld a decision by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission not to clear him because he failed to present his original degree and certified copies of the degree certificate within the set timelines, and for being impeached as Nairobi Governor.

The IEBC Disputes Resolution Committee gave the Wiper Party, which he was associated with at the time, 72 hours to name a replacement for Sonko to run for the Mombasa Governorship seat, with Senator Maanzo, who served as one of his advocates at the time, pledging to pursue the matter to its logical conclusion.

“We knew something was fishy when the IEBC Disputes Resolution Committee kept shifting the ruling on this matter from Saturday to Sunday and then Monday, where we kept waiting for 10 hours, only for the judgment to be delivered late at night,” said Sonko in June 2022.

Sonko had a dalliance with Wiper Patriotic Front Leader Kalonzo Musyoka’s camp after a short stint with President William Ruto, after falling out with former President Uhuru Kenyatta, who formed the Nairobi Metropolitan Services to manage Nairobi County after Sonko was overwhelmed with responsibilities.

Maanzo said at the time that Wiper Party would pursue the matter to the end since the people of Mombasa wanted Sonko as their next Governor, with some influential people hell-bent on ensuring this did not happen since they were not comfortable having him as the next Governor.

“The Mombasa Governorship seat will be won by the Wiper Party candidate Mike Sonko if there is a level playing field. The problem is that some people, for their own reasons, are very uncomfortable with this, but they will have to respect the will of the people,” said Maanzo at the time.

Sonko joined politics in 2010 when he was elected as Makadara MP at the age of 35, following a by-election occasioned by a petition filed by former area MP Reuben Ndolo against former area MP Dick Wathika, who had been elected in the 2007 general election.

The former Nairobi Governor is known for his flashy lifestyle and his Sonko Rescue Team that has been assisting those in need in the city, something that propelled him to be elected as Senator in 2013, garnering more than 800,000 votes, and in 2017 elected as Governor.

Mike Sonko and his running mate Ali Mbogo with some of their supporters celebrating at the IEBC offices in Mombasa County on July 14, 2022, after he was cleared to run for Mombasa Governorship.  [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

Sonko is known for his public theatrics, like participating in demolishing buildings on grabbed public land in the city during his tenure as MP, and also for putting President Kenyatta on a loudspeaker as he rushed to assist members of the public whose buildings were on the verge of being demolished.

The former Governor, before joining politics and getting his popular nickname ‘Sonko’, which means a wealthy person in street lingo, had been jailed in the 1990s over a land fraud case, after which he managed to escape from jail by bribing guards so that he could go and mourn his late mother, who had just passed away.

Once he got out of jail, Sonko moved to Nairobi, where he put up several businesses, which included public transport vehicles, a nightclub and real estate, where he managed to become the Chairman of the Eastlands Matatu Operators Association after successfully moving to court to challenge a decision to bar city matatus from coming to town.

“I had trained my guns on becoming the Makadara MP in 2013, but an opportunity availed itself during the 2010 by-election, where I was treated as an underdog but managed to run the big names out of town and served my constituents well for three years, earning myself a slot as the first Nairobi Senator with the highest number of votes,” said Sonko.

The former Governor faced serious challenges in running the city after being elected in 2017, prompting President Uhuru Kenyatta to form the Nairobi Metropolitan Services, with Lieutenant General Mohammed Badi serving as the Director General, leaving Sonko with minimal roles.

Sonko’s political boat started capsizing after his Deputy, Polycarp Igathe, resigned from office barely six months after assuming office, with Igathe stating that he failed to earn the trust of the Governor to enable them to serve the people of Nairobi well, leading him to opt to go back to the corporate world.

The former Governor operated without a Deputy for more than a year, and at one time nominated controversial Canada-based lawyer Miguna Miguna following pressure to make a choice, and later chose Ann Kananu as his Deputy but would later attempt to bar her from office, and she would later take over his seat.

Since his arrest and prosecution, and later being hounded from office following an impeachment in December 2020 and his accounts being frozen, Sonko maintained a low profile until he attempted his luck for the Mombasa Governorship seat, which was thwarted.