His eyebrows level, his tone unapologetic, Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko wished he had killed someone on the night of January 13.
“Kwanza wako na bahati. Ningekuwa na bunduki na mtu amenipiga na panga, ningeua mmoja (First of all, they are lucky. If I had a gun and someone has struck me with a machete, I would have killed one),” he said during a live KTN News interview in his office on Friday morning.
Before uttering those words, a steely Mr Sonko had shown the interviewer the back of his right hand where he had allegedly been struck with a machete that night when a scuffle occurred on a disputed parcel of land in Kilifi County. Mr Sonko had visited the area a day after his deputy resigned.
The county boss alleged that the assailants had descended on a neighbour’s property armed with machetes, bows and arrows.
“Someone armed with a machete, and I am a governor, and he strikes me on the hand. Should I wait for my death because of Chapter Six? Should I wait for the death of my neighbours or my relatives? That can’t happen. We will deal with such cases,” he said during the interview.
The Chapter Six he was referring to was the section of the Constitution that deals with leadership and integrity.
“If it is Chapter Six, let it be Chapter Six. I will give you Chapter 1,000,” a mirthless Mr Sonko said shortly afterwards.
On the Kenyatta National rape claims, the governor said he wanted anyone proved to have perpetrated acts to be taken to “jela (jail) straight”.
It appears Chapter Six matters little to the flamboyant governor who has lately upped his “bad boy” attitude that catapulted him to fame.
One might even say the governor is more into the sixth law of power — as stated in 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers — than the sixth chapter of the Constitution.
The sixth law says: “Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing. Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in oblivion. Stand out. Be conspicuous, at all cost. Make yourself a magnet of attention by appearing larger, more colourful, more mysterious, than the bland and timid masses.”
When it comes to “what is unseen counts for nothing”, Mr Sonko holds a legendary status.
Several leaked audio recordings and screenshots regarding his conversations with people around him are all over the Internet.
Although he has never admitted having released any recording, it is anybody’s guess how they leave his custody.
Few days after his deputy resigned on January 12, a recording emerged of Mr Sonko’s conversation with Mr Igathe that Friday morning, where they were discussing a number of county matters.
The message around the leaked audio was to show that the two were on talking terms until the very day Mr Igathe quit.
And on December 14, Mr Sonko had also released screenshots of his SMS and WhatsApp conversations with Mr Igathe when a local daily revealed the icy relationship between the two county bosses. “Does it look like we are falling apart?” read part of the caption.
The screenshots, published on Mr Sonko’s Twitter account, were unfiltered and bore some uncomfortably esoteric messages that Mr Igathe could not have wished to be released.
They also exposed Mr Igathe’s contact and even that of Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga, much to the displeasure of some social media users.
“Why are you framing your deputy on the public domain? Bad manners and lack of leadership etiquette,” said one user.
Searching online, one also finds recordings of Mr Sonko’s phone calls in different circumstances.
There is one where he was bashing a senior official of the Nairobi County government in his days as a senator, calling him a thief on various occasions.
There is another clip full of blunt remarks and curt responses as he took on a man who had allegedly grabbed land.
You will also land on another audio where he played clips on live radio where he accused people of extorting him.
But the World Wide Web being what it is, there are also unflattering videos of him, like one where he lashed out at a female politician over home wrecking claims and one where he used an unflattering language against Embakasi East MP Babu Owino.
As the episodes of Mr Sonko’s dramatic life keep piling up, somewhere in the Constitution, Chapter Six still clings to every inch of the paper it is printed on. “The guiding principles of leadership and integrity include objectivity and impartiality in decision making, and in ensuring that decisions are not influenced by nepotism, favouritism, other improper motives or corrupt practices,” part of it says.
But in the meantime, it looks like it will be more gunshots, drama, bling, audios, Mike, Mbuvi, Sonko.
