I was forced to implicate judges at gunpoint, woman in Sonko tape claims
A woman at the centre of tape recordings by former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko has made an about-turn and claimed that she was forced to implicate Governor Ann Kananu and Justice Said Chitembwe under duress.
Merry Nkatha yesterday claimed she had been kidnapped by heavily armed men who gave her a written script to respond to a phone call from Sonko.
She told journalists that her life was now in danger following the leakage that made sensational claims about Kananu, lawyer Cecil Miller and some judges.
“They put a gun on me and ordered me to read what was written on a paper when responding to Sonko’s call,” she said at Karen police station where she had gone to record a statement.
Beach plot
Nkatha now wants police to investigate Sonko and the circumstances surrounding the tape recording saga.
According to Nkatha, she had met Sonko early in the day in one of his lawyers’ homes in Karen where he learnt that she is close to Kananu.
It’s at the meeting that Sonko allegedly offered her Sh250 million or an alternative Sh300 million beach plot to implicate Kananu in irregularities surrounding the court’s clearance for her swearing-in.
After declining the money and with Kananu having been sworn, she claims Sonko devised a method of making the tapes.
“I was kidnapped on a Saturday night and I reported the matter the following day Sunday under OB 14/21/11/21. Police have promised to investigate. All I am asking is for security since he has been threatening me,” she said.
Sonko was not available for comment as he did not pick our calls or respond to text messages.
In the audio clips that Sonko has shared on his social media pages, Nkatha is heard identifying herself as a National Intelligence Service officer but yesterday she denied working for the spy agency.
The former Nairobi Governor has in the past few days released a dossier implicating top judges in graft allegations.
Chitembwe, who sat on the bench that approved Kananu’s nomination and later appointment as governor, has come out to deny any wrongdoing.
Last week, Chief Justice Martha Koome said the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) will deliberate on the matter and make a decision on whether to commence a formal inquiry into the claims.
In a statement, Koome, who is the chairperson of JSC, said the Commission had taken notice of what has been reported in the media and “JSC is seized of the matter”.
