A senior police officer has told an Anti-Corruption Court that JamboPay Director Danson Muchemi allegedly offered former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko between Sh4 million and Sh5 million per day to secure a lucrative county revenue collection contract.
Chief Inspector Kiptoo Kisorio, currently the Sub-County Police Commander in Hulugho, Garissa County, testified before Milimani Principal Magistrate Charles Ondieki, detailing how an undercover operation was mounted in January 2019 following a tip-off from Governor Sonko.
Testifying as the fourth defence witness in a Sh20 million graft case facing Sonko, Kisorio said the former governor alerted police that Muchemi, the founder of Webtribe Ltd (trading as JamboPay), had approached him with the bribe offer in a bid to retain the contentious revenue collection tender.
“Governor Sonko reported that Muchemi was visiting him at his Kanamai residence in Kilifi County and was planning to offer a bribe. He requested our help to apprehend him if he did,” Kisorio told the court.
Acting on the tip, Kisorio and his team filed an official report — OB 35/10/01/2019 — at Mtwapa Police Station and equipped Sonko with a concealed Sony audio recorder to capture the meeting at his home.
“The meeting lasted around 57 minutes. After it ended, the governor handed us the device. When we played the audio, I was shocked,” Kisorio recalled.
He testified that in the recording, Muchemi allegedly promised Sonko a daily payout of Sh4 to Sh5 million if he agreed to work with JamboPay. The officer also said Muchemi claimed that former Governor Evans Kidero made Sh7 billion from the same contract.
