Former Vice president Kalonzo Musyoka has come out to defend Mike Sonko on his unknown political bid ahead of the August 9 polls.
Kalonzo, the Wiper Democratic Movement chairperson, said that the former Nairobi Governor cannot be denied a ticket since he has not been charged with a crime.
“Sonko has not been charged with crimes against humanity. The only thing is he was impeached by the County Assembly of Nairobi and the decision was upheld by the Senate," he argued.
On December 3, 2020, Sonko was impeached by 88 Nairobi MCAs of the County Assembly. This later proceeded to the Senate on December 17, 2020, and the senators upheld the resolution to remove him from office.
Kalonzo further said that Sonko has an active appeal case pending in court and he is innocent until proven guilty and deserves a ticket if he wants one.
“He ( Sonko) has an active appeal pending before the court and as long as it is there you cannot deny him a ticket,” he added.
Last month, Sonko went to the Supreme Court to challenge his ouster. This was after the Court of Appeal upheld a decision by the High court that he was legally impeached in 2020.
The court also found that Senate gave Sonko an ear before concluding that he ought to leave the county's helm.
But Sonko maintained that he was yet to exhaust all avenues of appeal and will be moving to the Supreme Court.
“The law is clear on all avenues of appeal. I cannot leave the fight at the Court of Appeal. It is a fight to the end,” he then said.
Should the Supreme Court, however, maintain that Sonko was legally ousted, then he cannot hold or vie for a public position.
Article 75(3) of the Constitution stipulates that a person who is removed from office for violation of integrity as provided in Chapter Six cannot hold any other State or public office.
Kalonzo further defended Sonko, noting that the city politicians used to share with the public whatever he got, unlike some greedy politicians who steal to fight him.
He bashed other politicians in the Azimio a Umoja camp who are known for corruption but are still eyeing political seats in the elections.
He said Azimio will streamline the corruption case and make sure corrupt leaders will not find their way into the camp.
“There are others with pending corruption cases that are going to be streamlined and fast-tracked by the Azimio la Umoja because we will not allow thieves to continue stealing funds from the public,” Kalonzo added.
Last month, Sonko joined the Wiper party and was received by Kalonzo at the party headquarters. The event was attended by Wiper officials, including chairperson Chirau Ali Mwakwere, secretary-general Shakila Mohammed, Kitui Senator Enock Wambua and Embakasi South MP Julius Mawathe.
Sonko, who had been off the political scenes for a while since his ouster as the Nairobi governor, had in February resigned from the Jubilee party.
In a letter to Jubilee, Sonko thanked the party for assisting him before his impeachment even as he maintained that his removal from office was illegal.
“I would like to thank the party leadership for the support that they provided me while I served as a Governor of the Nairobi City County before I was unlawfully removed from office and hope that they can help change this country for the better. I wish the party and the esteemed members all the best in the future,” the resignation letter read in part.
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