Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko has denied claims he had met a man suspected of masterminding the recent Garissa terrorist attack.
Sonko has instead accused his political enemies of dragging his good name in the mud.
“I am a committed leader serving the people indiscriminately. It is disheartening for me to be treated to these cheap propaganda by my opponents,” said Sonko. The senator was reacting to a photo of him posing with an unidentified teen alleged to be the slain Garissa attack suspect Abdirahim Mohamed Abdullahi. The photo (inset, above) has since gone viral on social media.
“I never met him and neither was he my friend. Why would I have links with a terrorist when the Senates’ National Security and Foreign Relations Committee obligates me to handle sensitive matters of national security? Who would be that careless?” he posed.
Another photo shows the same young man posing with Governor Evans Kidero in the same posture and background.
“It must have been carefully altered to make it look like we were actually there. I pose with a lot of Kenyans most of whom I don’t know, but let me make it clear, I never met him neither did I know of his existence until he was identified after being slain during the siege,” said Sonko. He denied claims he has been running a parallel government through his outfit ‘The Sonko Rescue Team’ without a licence.
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“I have registered them and I’m operating within the legal framework. If anyone has any evidence linking me to social ills, let them come forward instead of spreading unsubstantiated rumours for political mileage,” Said Sonko.
The Sonko Rescue Team has pitched tent at the Chiromo Mortuary and offers first aid, counselling, food and water to mourners of the Garissa attack victims.
“I will not be discouraged by terrorists nor my opponents who have failed to deliver their promises. Besides ferrying bodies of the slain students from Wilson Airport, the rescue team has helped close to 200 families bury their loved ones across the country, ferried cancer victims from Kenyatta hospital and helped in the union of about 100 couples. I will not stop there even if some people are allergic to my success and pray for my downfall for their own good,” Sonko declared.
The senator recently stepped down as a member of three senate committees to pave way for investigations by the anti-corruption agency following a probe linking him to a Sh46.4 billion Kenya Pipeline Company tender. He has vowed to continue serving Kenyans.
I never met Garissa attack suspect: Senator Mike Sonko
