Former Nairobi governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko has claimed he is so broke that he can neither pay school fees for his children nor afford to take care of his basic needs.
In an application filed at the High Court, Sonko now wants a Nairobi court to substitute the KSh15 million cash bail he deposited with logbooks of three high-end vehicles worth KSh30.4 million as security to save him from financial meltdown.
Sonko who is on the EACC radar for failing to disclose how he acquired KSh1 billion assets said since he was impeached in December 2020, he has no other sources of income to help him cater for his health and other basic needs.
“I am asking the court to be allowed to deposit security in place of the cash bail to enable me to access the money for purposes of attending to my health, paying school fees for my children, pay my lawyers and cater for my daily needs and those of my family,” said Sonko.
It is understood that Sonko’s 10 bank accounts holding more than KSh18 million were frozen in 2020 on suspicion that the money was stolen from the Nairobi county government.
The court further barred Sonko from transferring, withdrawing, or using the funds deposited in six accounts at Equity Bank, three at Diamond Trust Bank, and another at Co-operative Bank of Kenya.
Before he could even become the Nairobi Governor, Mike Mbuvi was known for his glitzy lifestyle, flashy clothes, and expensive jewelry.
He loved to show off his wealth, something that earned him the nickname Sonko, which is Swahili slang for a rich person.
Apart from publicly dishing out cash to his supporters in Nairobi’s slums sometime back, Sonko left Kenyans in awe in December 2019 after sharing images of what appeared to be his expensively assembled dining room with expansive tables and chairs, all gold-plated.
Since he was impeached as governor, he has gone under the radar, never showing off his philanthropy that had endeared him to many Nairobi youths.
