Sonko: Uhuru’s c*r didn’t get a puncture; so, there was no way I overtook him

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has denied that his two drivers blocked President Uhuru Kenyatta’s convoy on Mombasa Road on August 29.

It is alleged that the governor’s drivers obstructed the Head of State at Ole Sereni area as he [President Kenyatta] made his way to State House from the JKIA, where he had earlier landed from Tokyo, Japan.

The two, Antony Wangamba and Joseph Njue, who were charged with obstructing the presidential motorcade, were arraigned before Nairobi Traffic Court Principal Magistrate Martha Nanzushi on September 9.  The suspects denied the charges.

And now, Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko claims it is nearly-impossible for his convoy to block that of the Head of State, given the heavy security President Kenyatta enjoys. Sonko further says protocol officers wouldn’t even allow him drive ahead of the president’s motorcade.

“There are allegations that my drivers were arrested for blocking President Kenyatta’s motorcade [in August]. I have been close to the Head of State since the days I was an MP. I never blocked his convoy before he was a president, why would I do it now?” posed Sonko, who spoke on KTN’s Point Blank on Wednesday, October 23.

“We received President Kenyatta as he returned from Tokyo on a Thursday. The deputy president [William Ruto], Nandi Governor [Stephen Sang], among others had come to receive him.

“It was only Uhuru’s convoy and that of the DP that were allowed access to the runway. My motorcade and that of other leaders were restricted to the taxi pick-up zones.

“After landing, Uhuru inspected the [military] parade, we greeted him and, thereafter, bid him goodbye as he left for State House.

“Protocol demands that his convoy leaves first, followed by that of the DP, and, thereafter, other leaders, like us, can follow.

“If we travelled in that particular sequence, how is it possible that my convoy overtook that of the DP and the president…? Because that is the only way you can explain how I ended up blocking the Head of State at Ole Sereni. Did Uhuru’s car get a puncture resulting in me overtaking and, consequently, blocking him?

“We are the people fighting for the president. I have no issues, whatsoever, with the president and the system,” said Sonko.