A senior police officer has testified that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) equipped former Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko with an audio recorder to secretly capture an alleged bribery solicitation by Webtribe (JamboPay) Director Danson Muchemi in a dispute linked to a multimillion-shilling revenue collection tender.
Chief Inspector Kiptoo Kisoroi, now the Sub-County Police Commander in Hulugho, Garissa County, told the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court that while serving as a Police Constable attached to the DCI office in Mtwapa, Kilifi County, he was asked on January 1, 2019, to assist Sonko in documenting incriminating conversations. According to his testimony, Sonko reported that Muchemi had repeatedly tried to entice him into a revenue deal that would allegedly yield massive daily kickbacks.
Kisoroi said he booked the matter in the Occurrence Book at Mtwapa Police Station (entry referenced in his testimony) and issued Sonko with a Sony ICD‑PX470 digital recorder (serial number 1161788). Investigators demonstrated its use, then positioned themselves in an adjacent room while Sonko met Muchemi at his Kanamai residence. The resulting audio burned to a compact disc and said to run 57 minutes and 16 seconds was presented to court as proposed evidence.
In the recorded exchange, Muchemi is alleged to have told Sonko he could earn between Ksh4 million and Ksh5 million per day if he cooperated in the tender arrangement. Kisoroi further recounted that Muchemi claimed former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero had benefited to the tune of roughly Ksh7 billion from a similar arrangement during his five-year stint at City Hall. The court has yet to test the authenticity, completeness, or context of the recording; those steps are expected as proceedings continue.
Kisoroi asked the court for permission to play the audio to illustrate “the depth of corruption” surrounding the contested revenue collection system. Principal Magistrate Charles Ondieki deferred the request, adjourning the matter to Thursday, July 17, 2025, at 9:30 a.m., when the recording is scheduled to be played in open court.
The testimony adds a new evidentiary layer to long-running scrutiny of technology-driven revenue contracts in Nairobi County deals that have repeatedly drawn corruption allegations, procurement disputes, and political fallout. Whether the audio substantiates those claims now lies with the court’s evidentiary review when the session reconvenes.
