Court Gives Sonko 21 Days to Respond to Child Neglect Suit

Mike Mbuvi Sonko, the former governor of Nairobi, has been given 21 days to reply to a child-support complaint filed by a lady claiming to be his ex-lover.

Sonko, according to the mother, has failed to fulfill his parental role of caring for their 15-year-old daughter.

His lawyers were on Thursday instructed to file a response in 21 days. They had requested for more time to put out a defense.

The case was postponed until June 23 by Ngong Senior Principal Magistrate Pamela Achieng.

Read: I Won’t Pay – Sonko Tells Woman Suing Him for Sh448,000 Child Support

The woman wants the former county chief to pay Sh448,450 per month for food and shopping, rent, security, salon fees, clothing, house help, entertainment, medical insurance, education, transportation, and utilities.

She wants Sonko to be forced to pay school fees of Sh86,000 and another Sh30,450 for various school-related expenses and clothes, as well as provide medical insurance and upkeep for the girl, pending the outcome of the case.

She also wants him to be forced to pay a Sh37,000 school tuition balance that he owes.

The woman claimed in court documents that the daughter is in Form Two and has not been to school since April 26.

Read Also: Sonko Responds to CJ Koome, DPP Haji on Attempts to Block Mombasa Governor Bid

Sonko, she claimed, failed to provide for the child’s fundamental needs, including education, good health, food, clothing, shelter, amusement, and medication.

“Mr Sonko and I are the biological parents of the minor,” she said.

She characterizes the Mombasa gubernatorial candidate as a wealthy man, claiming that the daughter is entitled to the same treatment and facilities as his other children.

“The unequal treatment has affected the minor psychologically as she does not understand why her father is abrasive towards her. Besides, the minor has been bullied and ridiculed in school because of her surname thus causing her emotional trauma and has indicated she wants to be transferred from the school,” the woman said.

Read Also: IEBC Barred from Clearing Sonko to Run for Mombasa Governor

She alleged that she first met the former Makadara MP in 1999 and had a romantic relationship with him. They had a child on April 17, 2007, after an on-again, off-again romance.

The woman claimed that she and Sonko share equal parenting obligations for the minor and are both responsible for the child’s upkeep.

“Mr Sonko has always been defiant and brazen to accept responsibility and assist me with the maintenance of the minor. He has over the years willfully withdrawn support towards the maintenance of the minor thus denying her what is rightfully hers forcing me to take full responsibility for the minor,” she says.

She claims she met Sonko in Maanzoni in early 2018 and he offered her Sh100,000 to cover the minor’s school fees and rent. He also extended financial assistance to her family after her mother died in December 2018.

Read Also: Sonko Takes on DPP Haji After He Vowed to Block Mombasa Governor Bid

She claims she is unemployed and that raising school fees on her own has become impossible due to the present economic downturn.

“The Respondent is a politician and high-ranking businessman within the republic who lives a high-end life and is not willing to offer the minor the same kind of life while offering a high-end life to his other children, which is a clear indication of discrimination on his part,” read the court papers.

Sonko, she claims, is aware that he is the biological father of the child, but he refuses to have anything to do with her.

“I have always been willing to have a DNA test done to prove the paternity of the minor, a fact which Sonko is well aware of as we have discussed the same on several occasions.”