Ex Nairobi Governor Opens Up on Personal Battles Against Injustice, Reveals Humanitarian Work
By Martin Masai
Former Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko ( Pictured Below) has offered a deeply personal account of his decades-long engagement in humanitarian work, legal battles against alleged land grabbing and interventions in the lives of vulnerable families, presenting his activities through the as a contribution to widening access to justice beyond the conventional courtroom.
Addressing the Alternative Justice Systems (AJS) Open Day marking AJS@10 at Machakos Law Courts today where he was the Chief Guest, Sonko narrated a series of cases in which he said he had supported widows facing property dispossession, children orphaned through violent crimes, victims of tragic accidents and families struggling to secure medical treatment and education for their children.
The former Governor told the gathering of judicial officers, advocates, community leaders and other justice sector stakeholders that his understanding of justice had been shaped by encounters with ordinary Kenyans who often lack the financial means to defend their rights.
Among those at the event included Lady Justice Wayua Mong’are who is the Acting Machakos Presiding Judge, Justice J.N. Kuiyioni, Chairperson of the Alternative Justice Systems Committee, Justice Noel Adagi and Machakos ELC Deputy Registrar Mercy Thibaru, Magistrates- Ms.Edna Nyaloti (Head of station) , Ms.Betty Koech, Ms.Victoria Ochanda, Ms.Dorcas Endoo, Mr. Elisha Komora and Mackakos Kadhi Aburazana Bin Ahmed. Others included Mumbuni Location Senior Chief Mulee and his Machakos town counterpart Chief Kisalu( Pictured below)
The Ex governor argued that access to justice should not be measured exclusively by the number of cases determined in courts but also by society’s willingness to protect human dignity, restore hope and stand with people who cannot defend themselves.
His address, delivered under the theme Access to Justice, Protection of the Vulnerable and Service to Humanity, was as much a personal testimony about his humanitarian journey as it was an appeal for stronger partnerships between the Judiciary and organisations working with vulnerable communities.
Sonko revisited several legal battles in which he said he had participated to protect public property and assist families facing alleged land grabbing.
Among them was the attempted grabbing of land belonging to Kamukunji Secondary School, where he said he participated as a plaintiff in Environment and Land Court Case No. 107 of 2014.
He also recalled his involvement in proceedings concerning the Loresho water reservoir, where, during his tenure as Nairobi Senator, he joined a legal challenge as an interested party over disputed court orders affecting public water infrastructure.
In another particularly distressing account, Sonko described a family whose property was allegedly taken through fictitious rates claims and disputed court orders.
He said the owner’s wife had travelled to India for medical treatment when the family was confronted with eviction and demolition proceedings.
The woman subsequently died after what he described as a period of severe hardship, while surviving family members fled to London fearing for their safety.
Sonko said he supported the family’s legal challenge, which subsequently resulted in favourable decisions at the High Court and Court of Appeal and the restoration of the property.
He cautioned that land ownership disputes and alleged irregular acquisition of public property demonstrated the importance of judicial independence, due process and access to legal representation.
“A title deed should represent security, not a lifetime of fear,” he said.
The former Governor also revisited the 2011 Sinai petroleum pipeline fire disaster, which claimed more than 100 lives, saying he had supported affected families in their pursuit of justice and compensation while serving as a Member of Parliament.
He acknowledged that the High Court delivered an unfavourable outcome and said he understood an appeal remained pending.
Sonko declined to discuss the merits of the proceedings, but maintained that the affected families deserved continued support as they pursued remedies through lawful institutions.
Perhaps the most emotional part of Sonko’s address was his account of children whose lives had been transformed through interventions by the Sonko Rescue Team.
He singled out brothers Gift and Satrin Osinya, who survived a 2014 terrorist attack on a church in Likoni, Mombasa, in which their mother was killed.
Baby Satrin sustained a gunshot injury, with a bullet lodged in his head.
Sonko said the rescue team facilitated his airlifting to Nairobi, where doctors at Kenyatta National Hospital successfully removed the bullet.
He said the intervention went beyond emergency medical assistance to supporting the education and welfare of both brothers.
Gift Osinya has since graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from Scott Christian University in Machakos County and currently serves as Director of Information Technology at Sonko’s NEDP organisation.
His younger brother, Satrin, is currently in Grade Nine at St Mary’s School in Nairobi.
He also narrated the story of Baby Scandy Chelagat from Kericho County, who was diagnosed with a life-threatening cancerous tumour affecting her eye.
Sonko said the girl’s parents, her father a watchman and her mother a housewife, could not afford specialised treatment.
Through his intervention, she was flown to India for surgery at his expense.
Although the operation resulted in the loss of the affected eye, Sonko said the girl survived and was now a Form Three student at Kenya High School.
He said continued support covered her medical needs, including treatment relating to her artificial eye, while Kenya Pipeline Company had supported her education.
For Sonko, these interventions illustrated how targeted humanitarian support could break cycles of poverty and give disadvantaged children opportunities that would otherwise remain beyond their reach.
Sonko also recounted interventions involving children who had lost parents through violent incidents.
He cited Baby Talisha, who was four years old when she reportedly witnessed the fatal stabbing of her mother. Her father, a military officer, was subsequently accused in connection with the killing.
Sonko said the matter remained before a court in Nakuru and that his intervention had focused on the child’s care and education.
He also narrated the tragic killing of Michael Omworo Ombui, who was fatally stabbed while taking his son, Baby James, to school in Mathare.
The child reportedly witnessed the attack.
Sonko recalled that the incident particularly disturbed him because the boy’s lunchbox, containing ugali and omena, was kicked away during the attack.
He said the Sonko Rescue Team worked with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, with suspects subsequently arrested and charged before the Makadara Law Courts.
He also cited Baby Emmy, whose mother died in tragic circumstances, saying his team assisted with family tracing, burial arrangements and securing the child’s education.
But it was his declaration about the relationship he maintains with the beneficiaries that gave his humanitarian account a particularly personal dimension.
Sonko said the children were no longer merely beneficiaries of a rescue programme but members of his own family.
“They are my own children. They are part of my family,” he declared, adding that they continued receiving love, care and opportunities alongside his biological children.
“I did not rescue them for publicity. I did not educate them for political recognition. And I did not welcome them into my home for awards.”
He said his commitment was founded on the belief that every child deserved a family, every orphan deserved love and every human being deserved dignity.
Sonko warned against the misuse of Alternative Justice Systems in handling serious criminal offences.
He argued that while mediation, reconciliation and other community-based mechanisms had an important role in dispute resolution, they should never be used to silence victims of violence or shield perpetrators from accountability.
“AJS must never become a shield for impunity,” he said.
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Kyeemeni;Nice story on AJS.Very informative.