• Sonko had been charged alongside other city officials and businesses.
• In the new charge sheet, the names of his co-accused Danson Muchemi, Zablon Onyango, Webtribe Limited and Robert Mureithi were dropped.
Embattled Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko yesterday pleaded afresh to corruption charges after the DPP came up with a new charge sheet.
Sonko had been charged alongside other city officials and businesses. But in the new charge sheet, the names of his co-accused Danson Muchemi, Zablon Onyango, Webtribe Limited and Robert Mureithi were dropped.
Last year, the DPP presented two charge sheets against Sonko. In the first file, he was accused of embezzling county funds to the tune of Sh24.1 million. In the second sheet were charges of economic crimes, abuse of office, unlawful acquisition of property and irregular payments that saw the county lose Sh357 million. He was later released on Sh15 million bail and barred from accessing his office.
Charges in relation to the Sh24 million file were amended yesterday, resulting in only four accused persons pleading to the case. The four were Sonko, Fredrick Odhiambo, alias Fred Oyugi, ROG Security Limited and Antony Ombok, alias Jamal. It is alleged the four jointly conspired to commit an offence of corruption, dealing with suspect property in the sum of over Sh14 million in respect of an equipment contract. The four also pleaded not guilty to money laundering.
Sonko was also accused of receiving Sh8.4 million from Fredrick Odhiambo, alias Fred Oyugi, and T/A Yiro Enterprises, through ROG Security Limited. In the second count, he was accused of conflict of interest, a crime allegedly committed between December 27 and December 28, 2018.
Regarding the Sh357 million file, the defence told the court that it has not been served with all the witness statements, accusing the prosecution of delaying the case. Lawyer Cecil Miller, acting for Sonko, said the courted directed they be served with the documents within 14 days which expired on February 10.
The court also heard that the prosecution will use pseudonyms for some protected witnesses owing to the sensitivity of the case. Magistrate Douglas Ogoti subsequently directed that the prosecution serves the defence with all the documentary evidence it requires. The case will be mentioned on the 26th of this month for a pre-trial hearing.