Following reports that former Citizen TV and NTV journalist Kimani Mbugua had relapsed, former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, who initially took him to a rehabilitation centre last year, quickly intervened.

In a detailed social media post, Sonko documented Mbugua's arrival at his home on Sunday after he had sought help from people around where he was seen in Thika to capture him and bring him back.

According to Sonko, Mbugua will be driven back to the rehabilitation centre in Mombasa on Monday, March 31, where he will undergo treatment once again.

"Following reports that Kimani Mbugua has gone relapsed and gone back to the streets, today, I dispatched a team to locate him.  He was found in Makongeni estate, Thika, Kiambu county," Sonko wrote.

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Kimani Mbugua at Citizen TV Studios on November 5, 2019

"He was brought to our headquarters, where we are currently overseeing his well-being after providing him with new clothing and allowing him to take a refreshing shower."

Sonko further noted that due to the nature of Mbugua's propensity for violence when under the influence, he will not be flown to the rehab centre but driven.

He also noted that he has chosen not to involve his family at the moment. Speaking to an official at the rehab centre, Sonko requested that they also not release him until he was well again.

During the phone call, Sonko also spoke to former boxing champion Conjestina Achieng, who is also being treated at the facility.

Reportedly, Achieng has fully recovered, but the rehab centre and Sonko have worked out a way in which she can keep working at the facility to not only earn a salary but also to prevent an imminent relapse as it happened before. A healthy and Conjestina spoke via video call to the former Governor, promising to maintain her sobriety and expressing gratitude for the job offer.

This arrangement, Sonko said, was the same thing he was considering doing for Mbugua once his second stint at the centre was done.

Sonko also highlighted the progress of Eunice Omollo, a former NTV journalist who Sonko previously took to the same rehabilitation centre in Mombasa until her recovery.

She is currently a health reporter at K24, where she recently covered a feature on Bipolar Disorder and tuberculosis.

Kimani Mbugua performing a song on World Mental Health Day. PHOTO/Mike Sonko

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