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State orders Sonko to remove national flag from his official car


The State has ordered Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko to stop flying the national flag on his official vehicle, Nairobi News understands.

The order was revealed by the governor in a coded post on his Facebook page on Wednesday morning. Mr Sonko said he had agreed to give up the flag.

“Mambo ya flag hizo nimekubali kutoa as adviced by Karanja Kibicho na Ndegwa,” posted governor Sonko.

Sources told Nairobi News that Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho phoned the Governor and communicated the order earlier this week.

Mr Sonko was the only governor in the 47 Counties who illegally flew the national flag on his official vehicle.

WRITTEN PERMISSION

The National Flags Emblems and Names Act states that, a person shall not fly the national flag on any motor vehicle, except with the written permission of the (Interior) minister.

The only persons allowed to fly the national flags on their vehicles are the president and his deputy, the Chief Justice, Cabinet Secretaries, speakers of the National Assembly and Senate as well as Kenyan diplomats while in foreign missions.

Governors are, however, allowed to fly their respective county flags.

“A person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding one million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or both,” warns the Act.

In December last year Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Junior published a Bill which proposed to amend the National Flag, Emblems and Names Act to allow members of the public to fly the National Flag in their places of residence, work and business.

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