Abusive, unruly & violent: Sonko draws wrath of police boss

The office of the Inspector General of Police will be preferring assault charges against Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko.

On Saturday, National Police Service spokesman Charles Owino accused Sonko of acts of lawlessness against lawful police action.

“During the arrest, he became abusive, unruly and violent in an attempt to resist hence obstructing police officers from the lawful execution of their duties,” read the statement.

In the process, the statement continues, he assaulted and injured the senior police officer leading the team and damaged media equipment.

Earlier on Saturday, the Governor’s lawyers had released a statement claiming that he had been ‘tortured’ by police.

One of the advocates, Harrison Kinyanjui even called for the arrest of a police officer allegedly caught on camera ‘beating and mishandling’ the governor.

“”It is embarrassing that this happened to our beloved governor who now urgently needs medication because of the inhumane way he was treated by rogue police officers in Voi,” Kinyanjui said.

The video of Sonko’s arrest in Voi on Friday shows police surrounding him in an attempt to cuff him but he resists and shoves them off.

The officers then follow him as he tries to move away and circle him almost immediately.

The Governor almost gets into fisticuffs with one of the officers before his colleagues intervene.

At this point, his aides try to break him away from the ring of law enforcers and there is a heated exchange as they try to contain the irate Governor.

He is eventually handcuffed and led to the awaiting police chopper that then heads to Nairobi.

Sonko is in police custody until his arraignment on Monday after the court threw out his plea for anticipatory bail.

He is to answer to charges of willful failure to comply with law relating to procurement, conflict of interest and abuse of office.

Other charges include unlawful acquisition of public property, deceiving principal, money laundering and acquisition of proceeds of crime.

The Governor will also be charged alongside senior county officials, private businessmen and entities accused of irregularly benefitting from Nairobi county funds.