Sonko puts up spirited defence on day two of Senate trial
What you need to know:
- Governor admits that his government allocated Sh297.5 million for the bursary fund in the 2019/20 financial year.
- He however says there was no exchequer release after State schools were closed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has dismissed claims by the County Assembly that he diverted millions of shillings in bursary funds as he shrugged off accusations that his daughter travelled to the US on his administration’s tab.
While the governor admitted that his government had allocated Sh297.5 million for the bursary fund in the 2019/20 financial year, he told lawmakers that there was no exchequer release after State schools were closed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Taking the stand to defend himself on Thursday, Sonko also denied that he used county funds to fly his wife and daughter to the US for a United Nations First Ladies’ Conference in New York in 2018, claiming the trip was sponsored by the national government.
“We catered for the expenses of the trip,” Sonko said.
“The trip was initiated by the national government. She travelled as a woman and the costs were picked by the national government and not the county government.”
He, however, admitted that his daughter has never been an employee of the county and rejected claims that she had received Sh2.6 million in allowances for the trip.
An imprest warrant – a document used to pay public servants travel allowances – had captured his daughter, Saumu Agnes Mbuvi, as an employee of the devolved unit with the designation of ward administrator.
Cross examination
But Sonko rejected the imprest warrant, arguing that it did not originate from the county even though it was signed by the designated imprest officer, Joyce Kinyanjui, who testified against the governor on Wednesday.
“I am not the author of the document,” Sonko replied during cross examination by lawyer Peter Milimo of the County Assembly.
Sonko took the aim at Michael Ogada, the Assembly’s minority leader and mover of the impeachment motion, accusing him of dramatising the bursary issue to protect a powerful cartel of MCAs who had been mishandling money meant for education of poor children through publication of fake cheques.
The governor also refuted allegations that he has undermined the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) by failing to sign warrants for the release of funds after the Appropriation Bill was assented to.
While he argued that the matter is active in court, he also relied on an advisory issued by Treasury CS Ukur Yatani which argued that NMS has no legal status to be allocated funds.
“I am being impeached for obeying the law,” he said, adding that releasing funds to NMS is tantamount to breaking the Public Finance Management Act.
