On Wednesday the Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko admitted that he acted as an agent in a Sh29 million “illegal” land deal. He participated in the illegal sale a few weeks before he was elected Makadara Member of Parliament in 2009.
Afzal Ahmedali Shah, a businessman in Mombasa, is accused of selling the property in Bamburi area of the coastal city to Hitteshi Pravin Dave and Rajesh Pravin Dave – two brothers from Kajiado – which the State says did not belong to him. Forged title And the State also says the suspect forged a title deed for the property four years before selling it.
Sonko was summoned to testify for the prosecution last month after the investigating officer in the matter disclosed the senator was involved in the controversial transaction. The senator told Chief Magistrate Julius Nang’ea that he had acted as a real estate agent in the sale and was paid Sh870,000 as commission by Shah for the transaction. “I was only providing agency services and after the transaction, Shah paid me Sh870,000 as my commission,” said Sonko.
Moreover he was charged with swindling the two brothers of Sh29 million between July 31 and September 17, 2009. Sonko said he started transacting in real estate business in 1996 until 2009 through his company P and P Group of Companies. ”I would deal with several lawyers in the transaction and one of the lawyers was Pandya Tahati Advocates who requested I help their client secure a piece of land in Nyali,” he said. The senator said Shah had given him copies of a title deed in respect of the said land, which he gave to the advocates. The hearing is scheduled to conclude on July 6, 2016.