A retired judicial officer has revealed how a Nairobi hotel developer allegedly paid former Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko Ksh7 million to fast-track approvals for a controversial construction project in the capital city.
Testifying before the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court on Thursday, July 17, 2025, retired Senior Principal Magistrate Henry Nyakweba recounted events from 2018 when he presided over a bribery-related case involving hotelier Praful Kumar Premchand Savla, the proprietor of Grand Manor Hotel located in Nairobi’s Gigiri area.
Nyakweba, who retired from the Judiciary in 2023 after serving at the Embu Law Courts, was at the time stationed at the Mombasa Law Courts. He told Principal Magistrate Charles Ondieki that he had taken Kumar’s plea in Anti-Corruption Case No. 10 of 2018.
“In the year 2018, I was serving as a Principal Magistrate at Mombasa Law Courts. I took the plea of one Praful Kumar in an anti-corruption case involving bribery charges,” Nyakweba testified.
According to the retired magistrate, the case involved three counts under Kenya’s Bribery Act No. 47 of 2016: Count One was offering a bribe contrary to Section 5(1), Count Two was giving a bribe, and Count Three was also giving a bribe.
The court heard that on August 20, 2018, at a location in Kanamai, Kikambala, Kilifi County, Kumar allegedly offered then-Governor Mike Sonko Ksh5 million. An additional Ksh2 million was later paid, allegedly to ensure the continued construction of a commercial building on land parcel LR.91/239 in Nairobi.
The construction project—already the subject of legal controversy due to its location in a secure diplomatic zone—was reportedly facing opposition from Nairobi City County’s urban planning department and local residents.
According to prosecutors, the bribe was intended to guarantee that construction would continue uninterrupted and that regulatory hurdles would be bypassed.
Former Governor Sonko, who appeared in court alongside his co-accused Antony Ombok Jama, listened as the retired magistrate delivered his testimony.
Nyakweba clarified that while he took Kumar’s plea and granted him bond, he was transferred before the case proceeded to hearing, and thus had limited knowledge of subsequent developments.
“I am only aware of the plea-taking process and have not seen the full court file,” he told the court.
When asked by DPP State Counsel Wesley Nyamache whether Kumar was a party in the current Ksh20 million corruption case facing Sonko, the retired judicial officer responded, “I cannot confirm if the accused in that file formed part of this case. I have not seen the complete case file to know whether he was found guilty or not.”
Despite this, Nyakweba produced the original charge sheet from 2018 in court, which was formally submitted as evidence in the ongoing corruption trial against the former governor.
Sonko’s name has continued to feature prominently in high-profile corruption allegations linked to his time in office as Nairobi’s governor from 2017 to 2020.
This latest testimony comes just days after a whistleblower disclosed to the court how he exposed a Ksh20 million graft scandal involving City Hall officials allegedly acting on Sonko’s instructions, and MP Steve Mogaka gave evidence in the same case, outlining how funds meant for county projects were irregularly diverted.
Principal Magistrate Ondieki postponed the hearing to Monday, July 21, 2025 at 9:30 AM, when a senior officer from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is expected to testify.
As the prosecution builds its case, testimony from judicial officers—both current and former—may prove pivotal in determining whether the former governor will be convicted of serious economic crimes.
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