Former Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko has defended his decision to reject the controversial Web Tribe/JamboPay contract, saying his administration had no obligation to continue with systems inherited from previous regimes.
During a court session, Sonko’s defense team argued that the e-payment system was outdated and prone to interference.
And that his administration chose to transition to a new, modern digital revenue system instead of renewing the old contract.
Taking the stand, former County Attorney Lydia Kwamboka told the court that Web Tribe had been contracted during Kidero’s tenure. She confirmed that while her office handled legal advisory matters for the county, no legal action was ever taken against the company during her service.
The court also listened to two audio recordings between the former Governor and the then ICT County Executive. In the clips, Sonko is clearly heard rejecting any continued dealings with JamboPay.
“I don’t want to hear any issues with JamboPay. We can’t inherit problems from previous administrations,” Sonko says in one of the recordings.
He insisted that the county needed a clean break and a more secure, updated system to manage revenue collection.
Supporting his defense, former Finance CEC Allan Igambi testified that he managed payments to Web Tribe during the transition period. He revealed that at one point, a senior official pressured him to “find something to incriminate the Governor,” but he refused to comply.
Sonko’s lawyers maintain that his administration deliberately declined to renew the JamboPay contract in favor of a more efficient and transparent revenue collection platform.
The case, currently before the Nairobi Anti-Corruption Court, involves Sonko, Anthony Otieno Ombok, and ROG Security Limited, who are facing corruption-related charges. The hearing is expected to continue next year.
In earlier testimony, former Finance Executive Winfred Gathagu told the Court that senior State House officials had allegedly approached her and other county officers to fabricate criminal charges against Sonko and support his impeachment.
“My colleagues and I were approached several times by senior officials who asked us to assist in building cases against my former boss, Mike Sonko,” Gathagu testified.
Sonko has consistently claimed that his corruption charges were part of a political setup meant to remove him from office and pave the way for the creation of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS).,
By BNN Writer.