A Nairobi court has been informed that the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) is unable to produce former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko in court as ordered on Monday, March 1.
ATPU Deputy OCS Ezekiel Lulei informed trial magistrate Peter Ooko that he couldn’t comply with the production ordered issued on Monday to avail Sonko since there is an existing order from Kahawa Law Courts barring them from interrogating or removing him from the hospital.
Sonko is currently admitted to the Nairobi Hospital where he was taken last month when he fell ill while being held at Gigiri police station.
But the prosecution has differed with the ATPU claims that there is an existing order barring them from producing Sonko, saying the order earlier issued by Kahawa Law Courts expired on February 26, 2020.
“The orders being referred to by the ATPU existed until February 26, 2021, when the matter was mentioned. If the orders were extended then they should have been served before this court,” said the prosecution.
“This court has not been provided with medical reports from Nairobi Hospital and the court is not in a position to verify the reason why the accused is still admitted in the hospital,” said the prosecution.
The DPP has further urged the court to issue a fresh production order against Sonko through OCS, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and Nairobi Hospital boss to facilitate the attendance of Sonko in court.
However, Sonko’s lawyers led by John Khaminwa and Wilfred Nyamu, told the court that Sonko is still unwell and suffers from several medical conditions.
“What we can confirm to you is that the governor is still unwell. The doctors have confirmed that he has hypertension, cardiological issues and he needs to undergo a hip surgery in South Africa,” said Khaminwa.
The court heard that Sonko has since been examined by a team of independent government doctors from Kenyatta National Hospital and a medical report filed in court yesterday.
The lawyer further sought a period of six days to recover and seek further instructions from the sonko on how to proceed with the matter.
