There was drama at Governor Mike Sonko’s private office in Upper Hill, Nairobi after a contingent of Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) detectives raided the property Tuesday morning.
Accompanied by tens of police officers, the EACC sleuths arrived at the compound at about 10 am for an inspection and valuation of the property by valuers from Gimco Valuers.
The detectives are said to have parked their cars at the entrance and used it to scale the gate to access the compound.
However, a stand-off ensued after they were repulsed by Sonko’s supporters who were already inside the compound.
After a three hour standoff, the officers left empty-handed, with Sonko’s spokesperson Ben Mulwa terming the raid as disturbing.
“The officers arrived here in a contingent at around 10am when the governor was in a meeting with two of his county ministers and a chief officer. They said they wanted to search as well as value the property, claiming there is an active investigation in regards to the acquisition of the property.
“What we find disturbing is the manner in which they arrived because ordinarily if they are coming to do the valuation of the property, why do they come with a contingent of police officers? If EACC wanted to do valuation, the governor wonders why it is not decent enough for them to send a notice informing him of the same,” said Mulwa.
Sonko added that he was surprised that the detectives scaled the gates when it would have been proper for EACC to write a letter saying they want to visit the property.
“The officers are welcome to conduct their investigations without any showmanship. As a law-abiding citizen, I have cooperated with all the investigations. Let them follow the right procedure and come back,” Sonko said.
The anti-graft watchdog has been investigating a controversial deal for the Sh500m property between Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko and the Kenya Railways pension scheme.
Read: EACC Probing Where Sonko Sourced Funds to Buy Sh500m Property in Upperhill
