Sonko: Ruto's party frustrated me so I opted for Kalonzo

Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has opened up on his move to decamp to Wiper party, as he maintains he will be on the ballot come August 9 with an eye for a seat in Nairobi.

The flashy politician disclosed that he defected to Wiper after his alleged mistreatment at the hands of United Democratic Party (UDA), a party he intended to join after ditching Jubilee Party.

Spilling the beans over his aborted move to the Deputy President William Ruto-led party, the ex-Nairobi Senator claimed that UDA Secretary General Ms Veronica Maina sabotaged his bid to register with the party.

Reading the signs, he opted to avoid further mistreatment by engaging the Kalonzo Musyoka party to become its life member.

“I was to register with UDA first but I was mistreated. I wanted to join them after resigning from Jubilee but SG Ms Veronica Maina sabotaged my registration,” said Mr Sonko.

“They are treating politicians badly and if the behavior continues then they are going to lose many political leaders,” he added.

Ms Maina did not pick our calls or reply to text and WhatsApp messages when reached out for comment on the allegations.

Mr Sonko had dalliance with Dr Ruto after his impeachment appearing in several UDA functions as he fired political salvos at President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The former Makadara MP joined Wiper as a life member last week Friday, after being off the political scene since his ouster as Nairobi governor in December 2020, where he was received by Mr Musyoka at the party headquarters in Nairobi.

The move to join Wiper as a life member preceded Mr Sonko’s resignation from his 2017 political vehicle Jubilee.

“I would like to thank the party leadership for the support that they provided me while I served as a Governor of the Nairobi City County before I was unlawfully removed from office …,” read the resignation letter in part.

Mr Sonko said he had to be a member of a political party ahead of the deadline set by the Registrar of Political Parties, saying he had to contest in the coming elections via a party should he be allowed to vie.

“I had to ditch Jubilee to join another party. There were constitutional timelines for every politician to be in a party before the expiry period which was Saturday midnight,” he said.

Keeping his cards close to his chest, Mr Sonko did not disclose the seat he will be going for only saying that the seat will be in Nairobi.

However, early this month, the flamboyant politician said he is keen to reclaim his seat maintaining that he was illegally impeached and he will be vindicated by the Supreme Court.

Mr Sonko was impeached by MCAs in December 2020 subsequently losing his seat as governor with the High Court and the Court of Appeal upholding the resolution by the Nairobi County Assembly.

The former governor has also found himself entangled in numerous criminal charges including corruption, assault and terrorist-linked criminal offences.

Early last month, he was banned from entering the United States due to corruption charges leveled against him.

“I have already lodged my appeal and we are just waiting for the hearing date. There is no law for Sonko and for other leaders. Article 99 (3) of the Constitution says one has to exhaust all avenues of appeal to be barred from vying,” said the ex-Senator.

“Sirisia MP John Waluke is an example. He is campaigning despite his conviction because he appealed the verdict and has not exhausted all the available avenues. So the same should apply to my case,” he added.