SONKO TO BE FLOWN TO VOI TO FACE CHARGES

Nairobi County Governor Mike Sonko is expected to appear before the Voi Law Courts, Taita Taveta County on Monday morning to answer to charges of assault.

According to police sources, the governor will be flown to Voi in the morning to take plea in a case where he is accused of assaulting Coast regional police commander Rashid Yakub.

Over 150 police officers have been deployed in Voi town to prevent any protests likely to occur when the governor is brought before court.

The governor, who is also facing corruption related charges, is also expected to appear in an anti-graft court in Nairobi after spending the weekend behind bars.

Sonko suffered a blow last Friday after a judge declined to grant his request for anticipatory bail following his dramatic arrest in Voi.

During his arrest, Sonko allegedly became violent and assaulted the coast police boss by kicking him around the calf area.

According to the charge sheet seen by the Nation, he will be charged with assaulting a police officer while on duty. Mr Sonko will also be charged with two other counts of obstructing lawful arrest and offensive conduct.

He was arrested at a road block in Voi, along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, by detectives a few hours after the Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji ordered for his arrest.

The governor tussled with police at Ikanga airstrip before he boarded a police chopper that had been sent to airlift him to Nairobi for questioning.

Drama ensued leading to a scuffle between Sonko, his aides and police officers.

The county boss had refused to board forcing police officers to bundle him into the waiting aircraft.

Journalists who had gone to the airstrip to cover the arrest also found themselves at the centre of the fracas after the governor’s aides pelted stones at them, destroying their equipment.

The governor and a host of county officials are facing prosecution over irregular payments amounting to Sh357 million.

Sonko has been in the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) radar for months now over corruption allegations.