Court suspends Mike Sonko's assault and terrorism cases

The High Court has stopped the terrorism and assault cases against former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, which are pending before the Kahawa and Kiambu courts, respectively.

The ruling on Friday followed a petition by the former governor, in which he says he was illegally detained and that his arrest and prosecution on "fabricated" charges was a ploy to induce him into submission politically, in violation of his rights.

Justice Weldon Korir said Sonko demonstrated an imminent threat to his constitutional rights as set out in the Bill of Rights, hence the need to suspend the two cases until his petition is heard and determined.

The judge further noted that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) did not rebut the former governor's claims in his pleadings.

He said the claim that the criminal justice system is being used to attain motives that are contrary to the mandates of the police and prosecutors speaks to abuse of power.

“This is where power donated to a particular office by the Constitution is not used for the purpose envisaged by the makers of the said Constitution, but to achieve ends that do not align with the national values and principles or governance established in Article 10,” he said.

The judge said that where there is a threat or disclosure of the violation of the rights of a Kenyan, cases must be halted until petitions are heard and determined.

He added that Sonko's claim that he was arrested after making statements at a political rally is a strong averment that needs a response which is not forthcoming.

Old cases

The ex-governor moved to court saying his rights and fundamental freedoms have been violated or are being threatened.

He wants the court to quash the two cases in Kiambu and Kahawa, arguing that police cannot be allowed to resurrect cases they abandoned several years ago.

Through his lawyer Dr John Khaminwa, Sonko said he was illegally detained based on impunity, malice and unfounded cases aimed at keeping him in custody.

Dr Khaminwa said the DPP and DCI have abused their powers and urged the court not to allow the constitutional rights of individuals to be abused regardless of the mandate, power and authority of the two bodies.

“The respondents have been driven by impunity, malice and bad faith and are bringing all sorts of frivolous cases, that are baseless and unfounded, in order to continue holding me in illegal custody and detention,” he said.

He has named the Inspector-General of police, DPP Noordin Haji and Attorney-General Kihara Kariuki as the respondents in the case.

The former governor claims the DPP has formulated an "evil scheme of lies, falsehoods and distortions to fix him on trumped-up charges and allegations that have no basis".

He says he is aware that the government wants to resurrect criminal cases against him, which collapsed in 1998. Some of the cases, he says, were quashed by Justice Samuel Oguk in 2001.

Sonko adds that the objective of resurrecting the cases is to extinguish his political career as opposed to public interest.

He says he was unlawfully detained before he was presented before court without his knowledge and in complete contravention of his constitutional rights.

Independence

Sonko adds that the criminal charges were preferred against him as a result of public comments he made and following shoddy investigations by the police, a move which he says shows lack of independence.

He adds that his comments were meant to enlighten Kenyans with respect to the characteristics of people holding public and State offices.

“The rights and freedoms of the petitioner, as enshrined in the Constitution, have been breached and shall likely continue to be breached unless restrained by this honourabe court,” he says in an affidavit.

Sonko said the charges in Kiambu are fabricated since the report was made 18 months after the alleged assault took place. He also questions why the report was filed in Kiambu when the incident allegedly happened in Buru Buru Phase 4, Nairobi.

He admitted that he made comments at a public rally on January 24 touching on certain individuals holding public and State offices, but notes that the intention was to enlighten Kenyans on the characteristics of those individuals.

Soon after, he was served with a requisition dated January 26, compelling him to give evidence in a case of incitement to violence and undermining public authority.

He said he was interrogated until midnight and later taken to the Kiambu court and charged with assault.

Sonko said he learnt of the charges during interrogation at the DCI office and that the charges of terrorism were added to keep him in custody.

The DPP opposed the case, saying he is merely challenging the powers of the trial courts with vague statements.

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