- Sonko accused of money laundering, unlawful acquisition of public property and other economic crimes
- Prosecutor requests Sonko be barred from accessing his office during the duration of trial
Image: /FILE
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations summoned EALA MP Simon Mbugua and Governor Mike Sonko's chief of staff Peter Mugo on Tuesday evening over alleged plans by youth to cause chaos during the county boss's bail application ruling on Wednesday.
They were questioned and they recorded statements.
Sonko was arrested last Friday after being linked to a Sh357 million irregular tender.
He spent the weekend in remand and appeared in court on Monday, but the bail application was postponed and he was taken to Kamiti Maximum Prison.
Sonko, however, only stayed there for a few hours after falling ill and being taken to KNH.
On Monday, Sonko appeared before anti-corruption chief magistrate Douglas Ogoti.
The governor and his co-accused face 19 charges of corruption, abuse of office and irregular payments that saw the county lose Sh357 million.
He also faces assault charges in Voi in addition to other charges in a Mombasa court from his past activities.
The accused denied the charges and applied to be freed either on bond or cash bail amid strong opposition by the prosecution.
Sonko was represented in court by a high profile team of lawyers including Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen, Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Junior, MP Makueni Dan Maanzo and lawyer Nelson Havi.
Lawyers Cecil Miller, George Kithi, Alphonse Mutinda, Osundwa Michael, Harrison Kinyanjui and three others countered all arguments by the prosecution.
But as lawyers fought for Sonko, the prosecution lifted the lid on Sonko's previous criminal life and used that to appeal to the court to deny the former Makadara MP bail.
The Director of Public Prosecutions told Ogoti a document from the then Commissioner General of Prison Services Wycliffe Ogallo showed that Sonko was on March 1998 convicted for failure to appear in court in the hearing of two cases and was sentenced to pay a fine of Sh500,000 and Sh200,000 respectively. In default he was to serve six months imprisonment for each.
Come April, Sonko escaped from lawful custody while undergoing treatment at the Coast Provincial General hospital ward number six. He was later arrested in Nairobi.
Ogallo in his documents says that the institution does not know how his escape case was disposed of by the chief magistrate's court in Nairobi as well as the senior principal magistrate’s court in Kibera.
Prosecutors James Kihara and Riungu Gitonga in persuading the court to deny Sonko bail said that the county chief was likely to abscond as records showed he was convicted in the past for failing to attend court.