Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has made a rare application to Chief Justice Martha Koome seeking to have a magistrate who was elevated to the High Court recalled to the Anti-Corruption Court to conclude his Sh20 million graft case.
Sonko, through a letter dated June 9, 2026, requested that Justice Charles Ondieki, who had been handling the case before his elevation to the High Court earlier this year, be allowed to return to the lower court to conclude the hearing and determination of the matter.
The unusual request was disclosed on Monday when the case came up for mention before Milimani Anti-Corruption Chief Magistrate Harrison Baraza.
The former governor and businessman Antony Ombok have already been placed on their defence in the case.
Following Justice Ondieki's elevation to the High Court, the matter was reassigned and mentioned before Magistrate Baraza.
Prosecutor Wesley Nyamache informed the court that Sonko had written to the Chief Justice seeking to have Justice Ondieki conclude the proceedings.
“The case was being tried by Justice Ondieki earlier this year. We had remained with the defence of the first accused, Sonko, and the defence cases of the second and third accused,” Mr Nyamache told the court.
He added: “The first accused, Sonko, wrote to the Chief Justice through a letter dated June 9, 2026, which was forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions on June 10, 2026. He requested that Justice Ondieki conclude the defence hearing and determination of the matter. The letter was also copied to this court.”
Sonko's lawyer, Assa Nyakundi, confirmed the application, saying the former governor wanted the judge to complete the case because he had already heard most of the defence witnesses.
“I confirm that indeed he wrote to the Chief Justice seeking to have Justice Ondieki, who previously heard the matter before his appointment to the High Court, conclude the case,” Mr Nyakundi said.
The defence argued that the case, which has been in court since 2020, should be concluded expeditiously.
In response, Magistrate Baraza said he had already brought the matter to the attention of both Justice Ondieki and the Chief Justice and requested more time for a response.
“Justice Ondieki has since received the letter and I have spoken to both him and the Chief Justice. It is important that we give the Chief Justice more time, about two weeks, to respond,” Mr Baraza ruled.
The magistrate directed that the matter be mentioned on July 14, 2026, to confirm whether a response from the Chief Justice had been received.
He also vacated all hearing dates that had been scheduled for June 29, June 30, July 1 and July 8 pending directions on whether Justice Ondieki will conclude the proceedings or the case will proceed before another magistrate.
Before his appointment to the High Court, Justice Ondieki had heard several defence witnesses, including former Nairobi County Attorney Lydia Kwamboka, retired Mombasa magistrate Douglas Ogoti, former NTV editor Ken Mijungu, police officers and other witnesses.
The case stems from allegations that Sonko and Mr Ombok irregularly obtained Sh20 million from Web Tribe Limited in connection with Nairobi County's 2019 revenue collection tender.
The prosecution closed its case after calling 19 witnesses, after which the court placed the accused persons on their defence.
