• Sonko claimed he was HIV positive and epileptic and had Chronic Tuberculosis and peptic ulcers
• He was taken to KNH on Tuesday after he complained of chest pains
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko was yesterday taken from remand prison to hospital as court documents revealed the diseases he suffered from prior to his release from jail 18 years ago.
Doctors attending to the governor at Kenyatta National Hospital did not say what he was being treated for but Sonko's handlers said he suffered chest pains and high blood pressure.
Sonko was in Kamiti Prison awaiting his bail application ruling by chief magistrate Douglas Ogoti today.
The governor has been charged with money laundering and unlawful acquisition of public property.
He is accused of irregularly awarding tenders to his close aides, forging documents and misappropriating county funds. He denied the charges Monday.
The 44-year old gold-loving Sonko is a divisive politician who has previously faced and denied allegations of drug trafficking and money laundering, according to the BBC.
"Recently, prison authorities accused him of escaping from a maximum facility 20 years ago," BBC reported recently.
Court papers filed by the office of Director of Public Prosecutions say Sonko claimed in an affidavit that he was ailing from at least four life-threatening conditions as he sought to secure his release from prison 18 years ago.
In new documents obtained by the Star, the governor had in 2001 said in an affidavit that he was HIV positive and epileptic.
Sonko also said in an affidavit that he was suffering from chronic tuberculosis and peptic ulcers.
The county chief also claimed that he was by 2001 the son of a single mother who had died while he was behind bars.
“I have undergone a lot of suffering. I lost my mother while in prison. She was a single parent and my only hope. My younger brother and sister are still in school and now depend on me. My wife was thrown out of the house and all the belonging seized,” he said.
Sonko's father Gideon Kivanguli, died in 2015 and was buried at the governor's lavish Mua home in Machakos county.
The governor has religiously commemorated his death annually.
The Star had exclusively reported on June 7 that Sonko's release from prison in 2001 was based on his medical condition. The governor sued for damages for defamation.
He also produced medical reports from a top Nairobi hospital certifying that he was of sound health.
However, in his affidavit dated 2/2/2001 supporting his appeal to be released on medical grounds, Sonko claims that his conditions required 'expensive treatment and management.”
“Currently I am admitted at the prison hospital and my chances of survival are very minimal hence seek to be released on medical grounds or in compliance of the Presidential Amnesty Exercise dated 12/12/2000,” Sonko says.
The affidavit was filed at the High Court in Nairobi.
High Court judge Samuel Oguk released Sonko from prison three months before completing his one year sentence because he was HIV positive.
Oguk, now deceased, issued the judgement in application No 80 of 2001.
The governor had applied for a review of his sentence after serving nine months for the offence of failing to appear before a court for the offence of escape from lawful custody.
According to a brief to the prosecution prepared by Commissioner General of Prisons Wycliffe Ogallo, Sonko was discharged from prison in 2001 based on the strength of his appeal to be released on medical grounds.
“However, the institution does not know how his (Sonko's) escape case was dispensed at the chief magistrate's court Mombasa, and also how other cases were dispensed by the chief magistrate's court Nairobi and the senior principal magistrate's court Kibera,” says Ogallo in the brief dated December 9.
Ogallo said Sonko escaped from lawful custody on April 16, 1998, while he was admitted for treatment at the Coast Provincial General Hospital.
Sonko who was then serving a jail term at the Shimo La Tewa Maximum Prison, remained at large until he was identified as an escapee while at Nairobi remand for another offence.
The governor had been arrested in 2000, some two years after leaving Shimo La Tewa prison and charged with another criminal offence.
The officer in charge of the Industrial Area Remand Prison where he was held alerted Shimo La Tewa Prison officer that they have Sonko in custody.
He was later on transferred to Kamiti Prison.
The prison authorities also reveal that Sonko was sentenced to six months in jail or a fine of Sh200,000 for failing to attend court over a case of making documents without lawful authority.
He was also ordered to pay Sh500,000 fine or serve six months in prison for failing to appear in court for the case of impersonation.
Since he could no raise the fines, Sonko was committed to Shimo la Tewa to serve both sentences concurrently for 12 months.
Ogolla also says that the governor's impersonation case is still pending at the chief magistrate's court in Mombasa.
In case number 1727/1996, the governor was convicted for the offence of impersonation but failed to appear in court for hearing of his cases after obtaining a surety bond of Sh100,000.
Sonko has downplayed claims that he escaped prison by faking illness and sneaking out of hospital.
"These are things that happened 23 years ago and I have been cleared that is why I ran for public office,” the governor said in a radio talk show on November 24.
"They should go to their records, conduct their investigations and we can meet in court," he added.
There are claims that prison authorities want Sonko to go back to Shimo La Tewa prison to complete his term.
Yesterday, security remained tight around the ward where Sonko is admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital with police patrols and security checks enhanced.
Four prison guards were spotted outside his room. Besides, there were a few police officers in plain clothes and some private hospital security guards keeping vigil.
The governor and his co-accused face 19 charges of corruption, abuse of office and irregular payments that cost Nairobi county Sh357 million.
Police have said they will press assault charges against the governor in Voi.
After taking plea on Monday, the governor will today return to court for his bail application ruling.
It will be a make or break session that could dash or resuscitate his hopes of a return to the office.
The prosecution had asked the court to bar Sonko from accessing his office pending the hearing of his case on grounds that he is likely to interfere with witnesses.
All eyes will be on Anti-Corruption chief magistrate Ogoti to see if he will break or stick to Justice Mumbi Ngugi's ruling.
Ngugi ruled in July that governors charged with corruption should be locked out of their offices until their cases are heard and determined.
Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu and his Samburu counterpart Moses Lonolkulal were barred from accessing their offices after they were charged.
Sonko's case poses a unique scenario as he doesn't have a deputy.