Sonko Appoints Ex-Convict Ally to Government

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko on Friday, November 29, in a Kenya Gazette notice, appointed Michael Mbanya Wathigo as a member of the Nairobi City County Alcoholic Drinks Control and Licensing Board

The appointment of Wathigo raised eyebrows, especially because of the past that might come back to haunt the appointee.

The controversy surrounding Wathigo first came to light in 2017 after he narrated to The Standard that together with 11 other Kenyans, he was arrested in Mozambique on Friday, December 16, 2005, and transferred to a Tanzanian jail.

According to Wathigo, he arrested on allegations of carjacking. However, it was later established that the car had been bought for Ksh1.9 million by one of his co-accused.

He would spend the next nine years in the Tanzanian jail where they were transferred to after an alleged Interpol letter indicated that Wilfred Onyango Nganyi was wanted by Tanzanian police.

Wathigo returned to Kenya in august of 2014 after he was released with two others.

In May 2018, he hit the headlines again after a video emerged of him in the company of five others, attacking former Nairobi Central Business District Business Association (NCBDA) Chairman Timothy Muriuki.

Muriuki had called the media to give his stand on the state of Nairobi, which has been beset by many challenges including garbage and floods, at Hotel Boulevard.

Wathigo and his team roughed up Muriuki and tore up his statement, arguing that he was out to tarnish Governor Sonko's name.

When the DCI launched a manhunt for them, Wathigo and his colleagues rushed to court to block their arrest, as they were willing to surrender. They were charged in court and released on bail after denying the charges.