Mike Sonko, the former Nairobi Governor has had his Instagram account suspended, despite having over 1.3 million followers.
The page was reportedly suspended after he shared a controversial post with an explicit video in which he asked members of the public to lynch suspects for a large fee.
The viral video, which has since been traced back to its source, depicted a group of men sexually assaulting an unidentified female individual in succession.
According to a police report, the incident occurred in Chebanyi village in Kimaya, Chepalungu, Bomet County, and prompted police to detain seven positively identified suspects awaiting trial.
Sonko condemned the heinous act in his post, but it was his sentiments in the post that sparked outrage, citing concerns that his online activity could incite violence against the suspects, which led to his suspension.
Sonko shared a snippet of the explicit video in which a woman can be heard screaming, “This is inhumane, and I am willing to pay a cash reward of one million shillings if any of these thugs seen in the video are removed.” That will be $7 million, which I will pay in cash to anyone who can teach those boys a ‘good lesson’.”
The post received thousands of likes in minutes, as his followers flooded the comments section with opposing viewpoints before his account was suspended.
But according to Sonko, he doesn’t regret his expression, saying that he had already appealed to the social platform to consider revoking their action as not wrongdoing.
“I may have written the post fueled by anger at the time when I viewed the clip but as a parent with daughters, I strongly condemn the act and whilst bringing the perpetrators to book is justice for the victim, they (Instagram) should be taught a bigger lesson to discourage such characters in the society,” he said.
The former county boss believes that none of his followers reported his post saying that many had shared his opinion with others even committing to top up the cash amount in support of his appeal.
“Very few, if any, of my followers disapproved of my appeal to members of the public. I mean, we are human and we have our female counterparts, none should be subjected to such animosity and if it happens I think the only justice fit for the victim should be bare the maximum and harsh punishment, probably the equivalent of a death sentence,” said Sonko.
Sonko acknowledges that he may have reacted extremely when sharing the post but (Instagram) should be able to critically analyse and rethink its action about pulling down posts that promote a safe and equal treatment of citizens, many of whom are its users.
