Embattled Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko was involved in an ugly spat that saw him allegedly slap a photo-journalist as police battled supporters who had accompanied him to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) headquarters.
The Governor was responding to the summons sent to him by the graft investigation body concerning alleged forgeries in the runup to 2017 General elections.
In a letter dated October 28, EACC summonsed Sonko over what it called forgeries in self-declaration. The Governor was called to record a statement at 10 am on Tuesday November 5.
However, Sonko arrived at the EACC headquarters with a huge crowd of bodaboda operators and a host of supporters in tow.
A confrontation would ensue after some supporters tried accessing the building’s gate alongside when police tried restricting entry.
In the melee, Governor Sonko was caught on camera slapping a photo-journalist who attempted to enter the building to take snaps as the Governor was being escorted for questioning.
Opera News identified the photo-journalist as Collins Kweyu who works for Standard Group.
The journalist was roughed up by police officers who would proceed to lock him out of the event even after identifying himself.
Monday, Governor Sonko bought a full-page ad on The Standard Newspaper to express alleged harassment by EACC Director of Investigations, Mr Abdi Mohamud.
In the ad, Sonko said his current tribulations were as a result of cartels fighting back in cahoots with senior officials at the EACC.
Sonko risks a jail term of up to 5 years in prison or a Sh5 million fine or both should detectives find he falsified his academic papers to run for Governor.