Court told Sonko wrote to CJ Koome seeking Judge Ondieki’s return
By Zipporah Ngwatu, June 29, 2026Former Nairobi County governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko is seeking to have former Milimani Anti-Corruption Magistrate Charles Ondieki conclude his case – according to court papers.
Through a letter to the Chief Justice (CJ) Martha Koome, Sonko urges her to allow Ondieki, who is currently a High Court Judge, to conclude his case at the lower court.
The graft case is of Ksh20 million, where before Ondieki was promoted to a judge, he had placed Sonko on his defence, and he has submitted his part of the defence.
When the matter came up for further defence hearing on Monday, June 29, 2026, before the Anti-corruption Chief Magistrate Harrison Baraza, the prosecution counsel informed the court of the letter the former county chief has written to CJ Koome.
Court heard that the said letter was written to the CJ on June 9, 2026, requesting her to allow Ondieki to come back to the lower court and conclude the hearing and determination of the matter.
“Your honour, the matter was before Magistrate Ondieki, now elevated to judge earlier this year. We had remained with the defence of the first accused person, Sonko and the defence of the second and the third accused persons,” the prosecution submitted to the court.
“The first accused person (Sonko) has written to the Chief Justice through a letter dated June 9, 2026, and forwarded to the DPP’s through a letter dated June 10, 2026, requesting to have Judge Ondieki be recalled to hear and determine the matter,” Counsel Wesley Nyamache told the court.
Meanwhile, Sonko’s legal team, led by Assa Nyakundi, confirmed to the court that indeed they wrote to the CJ requesting Judge Ondieki to proceed with the remaining defence hearing.
“Your honour I confirm that indeed my client wrote to Chief Justice Koome seeking to have Ondieki, who previously heard this matter before his appointment as a judge of the High Court, conclude the matter,” Lawyer Nyakundi told the court.
Magistrate Baraza, in his response, noted that he had already brought the letter to the attention of both Judge Ondieki and CJ Koome.
However, he stated that both the CJ and Judge Ondieki should be given some more time to respond to the said letter.
“I talked to Ondieki and the Chief Justice about the letter, and it’s important we give them more time, like two weeks, to respond,” Baraza stated.
Further, the Chief Magistrate directed that the matter be mentioned on July 14, 2026, to confirm whether CJ Koome and Judge Ondieki have responded to the letter.
Notably, the court took out hearing dates that had been scheduled for June 29, June 30, July 1 and July 8, 2026.