Sonko snubs Ipoa after ouster

 

Ex-Nairobi governor Mike Sonko snubbed an invitation to appear before the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) over alleged harassment by police.

Sonko had been invited to appear the Authority on December 21, days after senators impeached him over alleged gross violation of the constitution, abuse of office and gross misconduct.

However, the Star has established that Sonko gave the invite a wide berth.

“He never appeared. We have tried to reach out to him but he has never responded,” Ipoa board member disclosed to the Star.

Ipoa head of communication Dan Oketch said, “He is yet to come.”

In the letter dated December 15 and received by the governor’s office the following day, Ipoa CEO Maina Njoroge notified Sonko that the authority was investigating an incident where the police allegedly stormed and disrupted his meeting with MCAs.

The letter reads, “In exercise of its investigative mandate the authority is currently investigating alleged disruption of a meeting convened by you with members of the Nairobi city county assembly, your arrest and temporary detention on November 30, 2020, at Riverside within Nairobi County,’ reads the letter.

"On this premise, the Authority requests you to appear before it on December 21, 2020 at 9am to shed light on the above stated allegations," the letter adds.

On the day, tens of armed anti-riot police officers stormed Sonko’s meeting with about 40 MCAs who disowned signing the document to sanction his impeachment at a private residence on Riverside Drive.

No sooner had the meeting started than the officers stormed the premises, teargassed Sonko, MCAs and journalists who were covering the event. They briefly arrested him before releasing him.

The actions sparked outrage with Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja petitioning the Senate to investigate the police actions which he said amounts to intimidation and borders on breach of the former governor’s rights.

Days before his impeachment, senate’s Justice and Legal Affairs committee gilled Ipoa chairperson Anne Makori over the incident.

The committee directed the authority to investigate the incident and report to them within a week.

But in his response to the committee, police IG Hillary Mutyambai denied the police arrested Sonko during his meeting with MCAs the private residence, adding that the officers only responded to a tip-off that the county boss and the ward reps were violating Covid 19 protocols.

“The police did not respond with an intention to arrest the governor but to implement the Ministry of Health guidelines on Covid-19. Nobody was arrested during the incident. Police withdrew when the unlicensed meeting was dispersed,” he said