Is Sonko running for Mombasa governor?

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

There are indications that former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko is set for a political comeback if a document indicating that the Kalonzo Musyoka-led Wiper Democratic Movement party has cleared him for nominations in the Mombasa Governor race is anything to go by.

 The IEBC document indicates that Sonko will have to face it off with Kisauni MP Ali Mbogo, who is also eyeing the county’s top job on the same ticket.

This comes weeks after he decamped from Jubilee to Wiper Party on March 22, 2022.

Speaking to a reliable source this morning, Sonko said that he was interested in running for the Nairobi Governorship but his sponsoring party wanted him to run in Mombasa

“I am really interested in going for Nairobi Governor a second time but some agents of the party are pushing otherwise,” Sonko is quoted as saying.

A snippet of a leaked Form 11F from the Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission names Mike Sonko and Kisauni MP Ali Mbogo as Wiper’s Mombasa governor candidates.

A one-time Sonko aide and a lawyer friend of Sonko told the Standard the firebrand would give the Mombasa governor’s seat a try with the lawyer referring us to the IEBC document.

However, the party has not given any official communication on the same.

If nominated, the former county boss will face off against former Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar (UDA) and either Mvita MP Abdulswamad Sharif Nassir or Mombasa billionaire Suleiman Shabal, who are seeking the ODM ticket.

Sonko was impeached by the Nairobi County Assembly and the Senate subsequently in December 2020 on allegations of abuse of office, gross misconduct, and lack of capability to run county affairs.

He has repeatedly denied the accusations and even tried to challenge them in the courts but failed.