WHO IS THIS SONKO GUY WITH SUDDEN WEALTH AND POWER?

By Patrick Lumumba Opondi-Ogwechalre

Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 4:34am

He has been hailed as independent, revolutionary and a true face of the youth upon his election as Makadara election.

Before I begin asking questions, let me join the people of Makadara, the media and other Kenyans in congratulating Sonko for his election and maiden debut to Parliament.

We all seem to be in a rush to laud the winner, even without seeking to know him, what he stands for, his background, associates or his vision.

Makadara MP elect is the new kid on the block, call him bling bling. He is the new money bag.

But who are you, other than being SONKO and being the MP elect for Makadara? There is very scanty information available about you, leaving your character, just like your win shrouded in mystery.

I know I will stand accused for being too skeptical but at the same time, there is nothing wrong in probing the background of any public leader.

Early this year, Jamaica exploded when the police attempted to arrest a very popular and influential street character on charges of peddling drugs. Christopher "Dudus" Coke, a young man with considerable amount of wealth and property had penetrated the core of the poor society such that when the authorities accused him of illegal deals, the poor rallied to his defense. Who said that “bad boys” have no good intentions and are unable to corrupt the gullible?

There is no iota of comparison between our own Sonko and Mr. Coke other than society being easily gullible to applaud and bestow leadership on individuals, simply because of their wealth.

Sonko’s high profiled political campaign was awash with money, including the 97 million Shillings that were mysteriously wired to his account during the campaigns that raised eyebrows in security circles.

The man operates over 200 bank accounts which though not illegal, may appear to be very suspicious. Yet these are issues that gullible Kenyan voters are not prepared to ask simply because the young man is rich and can dispense cash at will.

Mature democracies around the world would demand a thorough investigation of the Hon Sonko type, scrutinized the source of his income, the nature of his businesses and tax compliances before being given a clean bill of health to become a public official.

Unfortunately in this part of the world, we have altered the true meaning of democracy, replacing and equating it with wealth.

Strong accusations have been leveled against ODM for shunning SONKO, in favor on Ndolo. I still believe the party leadership acted in the best interest of its followers. Leaders are made, not of money but character and integrity. If character is in doubt, mired in traits of illegal wealth, the party has no choice but to stick with the devil they no best.

Patrick Opondi,

Migori