Court clears Sonko in Sh500 million case, says ARA relied on 'gossip'

Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko at a Milimani court on Thursday,August 15, 2024. [Collins Kweyu, Standard]

The Anti-Corruption High Court has handed former Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko a major reprieve after finding that the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) could not prove that his Sh500 million were proceeds of crime.

Justice Nixon Sifuna in his judgment on Wednesday said that he expected that ARA would give evidence to prove its case, which would be similar to the claims leveled against him in a criminal trial at the magistrate’s court.

According to the Judge, the agency cherry picked data, to suit its narrative and never called any witness to back its case, other than a statement of an alleged investigator.

“Where an investigator chooses to use statists, he should conduct credible statistical analysis and not just draw lay or wild statistical inference that are not supported by the entire record or statistics. Such a goof can lend credence to a suspect or subject’s allegation od witch-hunt. Investigations that leave loopholes and potholes leave room for speculation, guesswork and scapegoating,” said Justice Sifuna.

The Judge also took issue on how ARA processes its cases. He said that although the complainant leaving to an investigation ought not to be named, there ought to be a description of where the information came from.

He said that information whose source remains hidden would amount to gossip, or that ARA was driven by grudge in Sonko’s case.

“It cannot be that the agency just thinks about every Kenyan, and it was his turn, or that the issue came to an official of the agency in a dream or a prophesy. The agency cannot wake up one day and start investigating someone or an entity. There must be a finger that has pointed at him or even a document or a report, eg auditor general’s report. The most unfortunate extent is that when the source of the information is gossip, or the agent is spurred by witch-hunt or some form of vendetta,” he said.

Sonko had claimed witch hunt. He claimed that ARA is pursuing him from mere suspicion adding that he had started making money even before he was elected a governor.

ARA claimed Sonko got Sh500 million in suspicious cash transactions.

According to ARA, an analysis of Sonko’s accounts depicted a clear case of smurfing, a technique used in money laundering where cash is divided between ‘’smurfs” who make multiple deposits into multiple accounts. By this, it claimed, banks cannot detect or suspect that those making deposits are connected to the owner of the account.

ARA in its court documents alleged that in some instances, Sonko received huge amounts of money in a day.