Former Nairobi governor, Mike Mbuvi Sonko, has denied reports that President Uhuru Kenyatta influenced the court’s decision to clear him to run for the Mombasa gubernatorial seat after agreeing to back Polycarp Igathe.

Sonko – who was cleared to contest in the August 9 polls by the High Court sitting in Mombasa – maintained that Uhuru did not have a hand in influencing court decision that was made in his favour.

The former Nairobi senator reiterated that the Judiciary – under Chief Justice Martha Karambu Koome – is an independent body and the President cannot influence matters before courts.

Constitutionally and as a Kenyan citizen, I am entitled to justice just like any other Kenyan. The court had already indicated it would deliver its judgement hours before I met the Azimio bigwigs. 

“Please don’t drag the Judiciary into political squabbles. The judgement delivered on Wednesday morning must have been written way before my Tuesday evening’s meeting with Azimio leaders,” Sonko stated.

The three-Judge bench of justices O.A. Sewe, S. Githinji and Lady Justice Ong’injo ruled that Sonko had met all the requirements set by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)  to contest for the Mombasa top seat.

The judges ordered IEBC to gazette Mike Sonko as a Wiper candidate in the Mombasa governorship race.

Sonko further detailed that he had extended an olive branch to both President Uhuru and Azimio la Umoja Presidential candidate, Raila Odinga, despite their past differences.

Additionally, the outspoken politician confirmed meeting an American bishop in a bid to call for a truce between Uhuru and his Deputy, William Ruto.

Sonko and Bishop Donald Kisaka Mwawasi filed a petition in November seeking court orders to compel Attorney General, Paul Kihara Kariuki, to initiate a mediation process between the two top leaders.

The petition is still pending at the Constitutional and Human Rights Division of the High Court in Milimani.

“Other attempts to mediate or address the issues between the President and his deputy have been tackled by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), a state body mandated to promote national unity, previously warned that continuing with the ‘hustler vs dynasties’ line risked deepening class divisions and plunging the country into chaos,” Sonko stated through a petition filed by his lawyer, George Khaminwa.