Sonko to Uhuru: You Didn't Make Me Nairobi Governor, I Got More Votes Than You

Mike Sonko has dismissed President Kenyatta’s claim that he helped him become the Governor for Nairobi.

In an interview aired on Monday, Kenyatta stated that he played a vital role in Sonko’s election but he failed to live up to expectations.

“I helped this young man (Sonko) get that seat. Instead of working, he was up and about, doing nothing. Just look at his replacement (NMS director-general Mohamed Badi), he has opened roads in Industrial Area, among other development projects," President Uhuru asserted. 

In a rejoinder, Sonko affirmed that he campaigned for himself and even garnered more votes in Nairobi than President Kenyatta.

"For the record, it is not Uhuru Kenyatta who made me the Governor of Nairobi. I was validly elected by close to one million residents of Nairobi, garnering more votes than the President himself, and Governors are not Presidential appointees," Sonko said in a strongly-worded statement.

Sonko won the Nairobi Governor’s seat in 2017 with 808,705 votes while Uhuru received 779,299 votes in the same county.

Sonko, who was impeached last month, further refuted Uhuru’s claims that he achieved nothing during his three year-stay at City Hall.

"Within a few days after assuming office, I cracked down on the cartels that had held Nairobi hostage for decades, sealed all the looting avenues by digitizing revenue collection, and Nairobians began to enjoy services once again without having to offer or pay a bribe.”

"It is the result of these stringent measures that International Agencies and Partners like the World Bank, UNEP, UNDP, DANIDA, and many others regained confidence in Nairobi, and provided support that saw my administration build over 140km of roads in under two years, compared to less than 20km done by my predecessor in 5 years," added Sonko.