Sonko fined half a million for snubbing Senate summons

The Senate Public Accounts and Investment Committee (CPAIC) has fined Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko Ksh.500, 000 for failing to honour its summons over audit queries raised by Auditor-General Edward Ouko..

The Committee chairman Moses Kajwang on Monday said Sonko must pay the fine before November 5, further directing him to appear on December 5 this year.

Should the governor disregard the fresh orders, the committee warned that it would order for his arrest.

Sonko snubbed the committee for the second time in August and instead sent Charles Kerich, county executive in charge of the Land docket. The committee, however, declined to listen to Keter and demanded Sonko to appear in person.

“The Senate will not be taken into a charade and our business is to have the governor appear before us and answer how billions of money was spent in the county. We cannot listen to a county secretary who has written to us,” Moses Kajwang said at the time.

The skipping of the crucial hearing drew ire of the committee and Senator Moses Kajwang who issued another summon, warning of a fine should he fail to appear again.

The audit queries he is supposed to answer to date back to the 2014/15 financial year when former Nairobi governor Evans Kidero was in office.