September 27, 2010 – Capital FM’s DJ Leo has recorded a statement with police after claiming he was attacked by Makadara MP-elect Mike Sonko’s men on Saturday night.
Speaking on Capital in the Morning, DJ Leo said he had stopped at a bus stop in Buru Buru to pick up a friend of his when the incident occurred at about 9.30pm.
Another passenger in Leo’s car, an 8 year old cousin of his, was reportedly terrified by the drama.
“I was on my way to work and was picking up my friend and my cousin at the stage… I heard a car hooting at me from behind but did not pay attention. About 100 metres from the stage, there is a bump. When I slowed down to go over the bump this car blocked me, and two men with guns jumped out…”
Leo says they were all forced out of the car before Sonko’s men proceeded to beat him.
“My friend was told to lie down and the little girl was standing there shaking…. The whole thing took about five minutes. The men hit me and kept on asking why I was blocking mheshimiwa’s car,” said Leo, who was hurt on his chest and ear.
The DJ, who spins at a club in westlands on Friday and Saturday nights, said he had done nothing to warrant that kind of hostility and revealed that he had indeed voted for Sonko during the recent by-elections.
“If this is what we have voted for I am very disappointed. I was clapped hard on my ear and hit a few times on my chest.”
Mike Sonko, real name Gidion Mbuvi, confirmed to Capital in the Morning that there was indeed an incident, but denied that any violence took place.
“We were scared. This Nissan van kept on blocking us and when we overtook them, we confronted them.”
Sonko went on to say that the occupants of DJ Leo’s vehicle appeared drunk at the time, and said that after the matter was clarified, they shook hands and left the scene in peace.
Leo disagrees. “One of the bouncers with them knows me. He told them to stop but they didn’t listen. At this point I was pleading with Sonko, telling him we were not trying to block him but I was just picking up people at the stage,” he told Capital Lifestyle.
Sonko defended: “I have gotten death threats in the past. People saying I should not be MP because the seat (Makadara) belongs to someone else. Former MP (David) Were was killed in similar circumstances. I was just being careful. I told Leo sorry for the incident and said it would not happen again. We even shook hands.”
The newly elected legislator further denied that his men were armed.
Leo says one of Sonko’s men called them a few minutes after the scuffle and apologised once again.
The DJ is recuperating at home, and Martha Karua, the party leader of Narc-Kenya, under whose umbrella Sonko came to power, also gave her apologies and said the matter would be looked into.