Senator Mike Mbuvi Sonko. Photo: .kenya-today.com
Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko on Thursday had to sweat to get a Certificate of Good Conduct from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
The CID reportedly demanded that he provides his original KCSE certificate before he is cleared.
The flamboyant senator said there was a plot to deny him the clearance certificate so that he fails to submit his nomination papers to Jubilee Party by Friday, the deadline.
He alleged that a senior official in the office of President Uhuru Kenyatta was behind the bid to block him from getting the Good Conduct certificate.
The certificate is required for Jubilee clearance ahead of party primaries to be held in April.
“There is a senior official at OP who is behind all this. I am told the system and some top party officials plotted to lock me out of the JP nomination,” Sonko said on Thursday evening.
Sonko wondered why there were attempts to block him from vying for Nairobi governor seat.
It appears the Jubilee Party is favouring Peter Kenneth for the county’s top elective seat.
Kenneth presented his nomination papers on Wednesday, and was flanked by a dozen of MPs, who were for a long time in Sonko’s camp.
A day later, Nominated MP Johnson Sakaja submitted nomination papers for the Nairobi Senate seat, currently held by Sonko.
Sakaja initially was to vie for governor post.
Sonko has been considered the biggest threat to unseat incumbent ODM Governor Evans Kidero.
Sources within Jubilee, however, say top party officials do not want him to vie for governor post, but the Senate.
“Sonko has refused to step down, despite several attempts and the party has no option but isolate him,” a senior official involved in behind-the-scenes negotiations was quoted by the Star.
Sources say top Jubilee politicians are unhappy with Sonko for his hard stance.
They therefore asked Sakaja to join Kenneth’s camp and run for Senate.
After obtaining the clearance certificate from the CID, the flamboyant leader took to social media, accusing a “powerful” Principal Secretary of trying to bar him from vying.
"Thanks be to God. I just got my Certificate of Good Conduct this evening. The devil shall continue to be defeated in Jesus' Mighty name. I want to tell my rivals within Jubilee Party that even the so called Kibaki handlers at the OP rejected President Uhuru but he still became the President of Kenya," Sonko posted on Facebook.
"It is on this breath that I am telling you bwana PS wa hio powerful ministry that if you want to join politics just quit and come to the ground tupambane instead of creating unnecessary obstacles on my path by trying to block the clearance of my certificate of good conduct. You, your so called project and the incumbent Mps have no right to decide on behalf of 2,304,286 registered voters. Let me be rejected by the people and not you and Mps who are even not sure of their re-election. I believe in the power of the people and God."
Sonko in 2013 won the Senate elections after garnering 808,705 votes. His closest rival then, Bishop Margaret Wanjiru attained 525,822 votes.
Wanjiru is also eying the Nairobi governor seat.
Do you think Sonko will quit Jubilee if he does not win the party nominations to vie for Governor?