Former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko has failed in his bid to access Sh15 million he deposited in court as cash bail when he was charged with corruption and abuse of office.
He wanted the court to substitute the cash bail with the log books of three motor vehicles offered by an unnamed person.
But High Court Judge Esther Maina dismissed the request.
“There is no sufficient basis for the application and it is dismissed,” said Justice Maina of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division.
She added: “Moreover, the application should have been made at the trial court, not this court”.
Mr Sonko had indicated that he was so broke that he could not afford to pay his lawyers and settle school fees for his children. Part of the cash bail was raised from friends and relatives.
The money was deposited in court in December 2019 in two tranches. The first Sh5 million was from Mr Sonko's account while Sh10 million was deposited by Anne Kananu Mwenda (now Nairobi governor) from cash contributed by Mr Sonko's friends and family members.
Released to his lawyer
His lawyer, Phillip Kaingu, had said the impeached governor was in dire need of finances so as to attend to his health, pay fees for his children and his advocates, and meet his family's daily needs.
The lawyer said Mr Sonko had secured a surety who was willing to deposit the log books of three motor vehicles as security to release the cash bail.
"The motor vehicles have a cumulative assessed value of Sh30.4 million and are also comprehensively insured," says Mr Sonko in the court pleadings. The cars are listed as KCE 111M, KCJ 007F and KCN 900Q.
"Ever since he was released from custody, he has religiously been abiding (by the) terms of his release and has continually attended court for hearing and mention,” the lawyer said.
“More than 10 witnesses have already testified in the three cases facing Sonko and there is no risk of flight on his part."
And because all his bank accounts were frozen due to allegations of corruption, money laundering and possessing proceeds of crime, Mr Sonko told the court that the cash bail could be released to his lawyer.
Ten bank accounts belonging to Mr Sonko and holding more than Sh18 million were frozen by a court last year on suspicion that the money was stolen from the Nairobi County government. The order was obtained by the Assets Recovery Agency.
The court also barred Mr Sonko from transferring, withdrawing or using money in six accounts at Equity Bank, three at Diamond Trust Bank and another at Co-operative Bank.
