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Sonko’s last laugh on workers who wanted to spray his cars with human waste


Nairobi Governor-elect Mike Sonko seems to have had the last laugh in his feud with Nairobi Water managing director Eng Philip Gichuki that once left him red-faced.

The Nairobi City Water Sewerage Company (NCWSC) board of directors on Friday announced that it would not renew the contract of Mr Gichuki, sparking a strike by workers at the firm.

The board has appointed Nahashon Muguna, the Nairobi Water Technical Director, to take over as MD in an acting capacity.

Others whose contracts have not been renewed include directors Stephen Mbugua (Commercial), Johnson Randu (Finance) Ms. Rosemary Kijana (Human Resource and Administration Services).

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

But what is unknown to many is that Sonko had unfinished business with Mr Gichuki.

It is, however, imperative to note from the onset that there is no evidence that the incoming governor had a hand in the development at the firm.

Though incorporated in December 2003 under the Companies Act, NCWSC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nairobi City County.

The Sonko-Gichuki feud started in May 2015 when then Senator stormed the MD’s office on Kampala Road in Industrial Area accompanied by retinue of bodyguards and cheerleaders.

He had gone to protest after Eastlands residents complained of water contaminated with sewage.

“The senator was questioning the MD why he was not picking his calls despite his repeated attempts to talk to him on phone,” a source at the water company who witnessed the mid-morning showdown told Nairobi News back then.

The problem begun when one of Sonko’s bodyguards rudely stopped an employee from accessing the MD’s office which is located on the second floor.

DARLING OF EMPLOYEES

What Sonko and his team did not know was that the MD is a darling of the employees, who refer to him as baba (father).

The shocked and enraged employee quickly alerted his colleagues about the strangers in the compound.

Word spread quickly and soon hundreds of employees were converging, shouting and asking Sonko’s drivers to leave the compound.

Meanwhile, some employees deflated the vehicles as others blocked the entry and exit points with the water tankers.

“Some employees were threatening to spray the vehicles with human waste. It was quite a spectacle,” recalled an employee.

As anger was building up, the area police boss was alerted and came in with a few officers who had a hard time convincing the employees to let them in.

“He (police boss) said ‘I’m on your side’ and that’s when he was let in,” the employee said.

The officer then made his way into the MD’s office and convinced him to go out and calm his employees down.

‘EVIL FOR EVIL’

The cool and collected MD is shown on a video asking the employees not to pay “evil for evil”.

Moments later, Sonko walks out of the building and is briefly roughed up by the enraged employees who forced him to apologize to Mr Gichuki “na umuite baba (and address him as father)”. He was sweating profusely.

A cheeky but cornered Sonko later changed story and said he had gone to pay the MD a courtesy call and alert him about ongoing grabbing of land belonging to Nairobi Water.

He cited a case in Loresho, Nairobi which he had filed in court. In defence, the Water company management said there had been a problem where people had been allowed to put up houses on way leaves something that made it easier for water to get contaminated besides making it impossible for its engineers to address emerging issues.

The employees later let Sonko and team leave.

Now, Sonko is set to be sworn in on Monday and Mr Gichukia is out of the firm.