Nairobi governor Mike Sonko has for the first
time publicly spoken about a possibility of him not seeking a second term in office.
"Let them hate me for what I'm doing. It is not a must for me to become governor again. I will make sure I bring sanity to the county," he said.
He spoke at Pumwani grounds on Saturday during celebrations to mark the 54th Mashujaa Day. Other county
officials including Woman Representative
Esther Passaris were present.
Sonko said he would continue
fighting people who want to stall development and entrench corruption in Nairobi.
“Even if I remain with one CEC, I have no problem with that as long as I fight corruption. I’ll continue with my style of leadership."
Sonko asked the Director of Public Prosecutions and other agencies to crack the whip in Nairobi. "They must clean the county," he said.
"Ufisadi imefanya Nairobi ikawa nyuma. Public money should remain public money. I do not have anything against anyone," Sonko said.
Glitzy Sonko’s chaotic leadership and haphazard dismissal of staff has severely exposed his soft underbelly and brought into sharp focus his roughshod management style.
Borrowing heavily from his topsy-turvy past, when he served as Makadara MP and Nairobi senator, Sonko’s perpetuation of a bullish culture, blended with intimidation and harassment, appears to have snowballed into large-scale levels as governor.
The governor’s reign at City Hall has been described by some as an “occupational terror and sheer hostage”, with little options for staff working at his mercy.
The 43-year-old county boss
has conducted sting operations in the auditing, inspectorate, accounting departments in what are said to be intelligence-led swoops to curb corruption,
but dramatized in rather choreographed publicity stunts.
Sonko has defended his on-the-spot actions, saying he is always guided by evidence based on intelligence reports.
Read: