Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko and his family have been banned from ever setting foot on US soil. The US Secretary of state Anthony Blinken said on Tuesday Sonko and his family is ineligible to enter the country from now on following the designation.
”The US has credible information that Sonko was involved in corruption when he was the governor of Nairobi. With this, the department affirms the need of accountability and transparency in Kenya,” said Eric Watnik, the Counsellor for Public Diplomacy at the US embassy in Nairobi.
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The former county boss is claimed to have embezzled more than 300 million shillings while at the helm partly through the irregular awarding of contracts to friends’ companies that are said to have wired money to his personal accounts after receiving their payments from Nairobi county.
“The U.S. Department of State is designating former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko Gideon Mbuvi Kioko due to his involvement in significant corruption. While in office, Governor Sonko solicited bribes and kickbacks in exchange for awarding government contracts to his associates,” the State Department said on its official website.
Banned alongside the former governor is his wife Primrose Mbuvi, daughters Saumu Mbuvi and Salma Mbuvi. A child in the Sonko’s family is also placed on the list.
