•Last month, Parliament denied paying Passaris any allowances to attend a women's conference in the US in March.
Image: COURTESY
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko went to EACC headquarters and said he will not apologise to Woman Representative Esther Passaris after accusing her of financial impropriety.
He on Thursday claimed that she wants to create enmity between him and women.
“Anataka kunipiganisha na wamama na mimi nawapenda sana wamama (she wants to cause a rift between me and women and yet I appreciate women),” Sonko said.
“Mama mmoja asifanye diversionary tactics za kunikosanisha na wamama. Mimi niko na bibi na watoto wasichana (One woman should not engage in diversonary tactics to cause a rift between me an women. I have a wife and daughters.”
Sonko further said that he respected Passaris as she had a development agenda for Nairobi.
The governor said Passaris should apologise to him firs if she expects an apology.
Sonko had earlier said he was ready to step aside to allow EACC complete investigations over alleged utterances directed to Passaris over financial impropriety.
Sonko took to his Facebook account and responded to the issue and acknowledged the receipt of summons.
He was referring to a letter dated July 30, 2019, where the EACC Chief Executive Officer Twalib Mbarak wrote to Sonko requesting him to appear at the headquarters at Integrity Centre on Thursday.
“I want to categorically state that, in the event, it is established that I have a case to answer before the law, I am ready to step aside to allow the EACC complete investigations and determination of the matter,” Sonko said.
I acknowledge receipt of summons by the EACC relating to alleged utterances I made, directed to Hon. Esther Passaris, and her unpaid per diem for a trip she made to New York in March 2019 despite the county having paid for her air ticket to New York and before that Vienna.Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko
However, Sonko stated that he will individually present himself to Integrity Centre immediately after the memorial service of the late Bomet Governor, Joyce Laboso and the late MP for Kibra Ken Okoth.
He said that due to his support of President Uhuru Kenyatta big war against the corruption he will honour the summons.
The flamboyant governor said the move by EACC will have cartels celebrating and thinking of a come back to swindle public funds.
“ I know many cartels will celebrate this move and think of coming back to swindle public funds but poleni sana I shall still be monitoring all the projects I initiated closely during my absence from office. God bless you, God bless Nairobi, God bless Kenya,” Sonko added.
Sonko claimed that he had evidence that Passaris was paid per diem by both the national and Nairobi county governments to attend the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) caucus in New York in 2018.
However, last month, Parliament denied paying Passaris any allowances to attend a women's conference in the US in March.
National Assembly Clerk Micheal Sialai said there were no air tickets procured for Passaris as she was not in the House's official delegation to New York.