Gov Sonko Rescue Team Members Arrested On 10th Anniversary [PHOTOS & VIDEO]

Police in Nairobi on Monday, May 25, arrested 10 members of Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko's rescue force dubbed Sonko Rescue Team as the controversial outfit celebrated its 10th anniversary.

A source close to the incident told Kenyans.co.ke that the team was taken to Kariobangi Police Station after they were arrested distributing foodstuff and putting up tents for evictees in the sewerage area of Kariobangi.

"The police arrested around 10 people and were taken to Kariobangi Police Station. They claimed the issue was the distribution of the food," stated the source.

The team was celebrating the outfits 10 anniversary by distributing relief food and other basic needs to the people of Kariobangi who had been rendered homeless after the demolition of their houses.

Members of the Sonko Rescue Team at Kariobangi Police Station on Monday, May 25, 2020.
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On his Facebook page on Monday, May 25, Sonko had disclosed that his team was sent on the mission to offer tents and food to the families who spend the night in the cold after learning about it in the media.

"Following the story that highlighted the plight of the families that were rendered homeless after the Kariobangi demolitions, my team has today provided the families with foodstuffs and a number of items to enable them to meet their basic needs.

"These include tents, mattresses, blankets, a kerosene stove and a charcoal jiko for each family, sufurias, kitchen utensils, alongside foodstuffs to sustain the families before we find a permanent solution for them," stated Sonko.

He also disclosed that a medical camp had been set up in the are to offer medical services to the vulnerable families.

"We are also offering Free Medical Clinic to them as we mark 10 years of Sonko Rescue Team Services," he added.

Since its inception 10 years ago, the team had offered numerous aid across the country with a May 10, report from its leadership indicating that it was receiving over 20,000 food aid requests every day. 

A member of Sonko Rescue Team hands relief food to a victim in Kariobangi on Monday, May 25, 2020.
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"We could be taking a lot for granted but Kenyans out there are suffering and it's not just Nairobi. We are receiving pleas from as far as Busia and Mombasa and sometimes we are forced to do cash transfers in cases we identify as urgent and serious," Francis Wambua, who is in charge of food requests said. 

The team has increasingly suffered numerous obstacles including in April 2020, when 21 members of the team fell into police hands during the enforcement of the dusk-to-dawn curfew.

The team was arrested at the time while heading home after wrapping up fumigation duties in the city.

The members were taken to Muthaiga Police Station after their arrest.