Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has once again become a topic of discussion online after an old video showing him displaying several M-Pesa account balances and a surprisingly high Fuliza limit resurfaced on social media.
The footage has amused Kenyans, with many taking to social media to compare the figures displayed on Sonko’s mobile phones with their own financial situations.
The video, which was recorded in May during a disagreement involving a friend, captures the flamboyant former governor defending himself after an individual reportedly requested a reversal of KSh10,000 that Sonko had sent to him.
According to Sonko, the money had been sent voluntarily after the two spent an evening together. He claimed that he had given the money to impress women and had not asked for it back.
However, he became unhappy after Safaricom reportedly contacted him over the reversal request, questioning why someone would seek to recover money that had already been voluntarily sent.
Sonko appeared particularly irritated by what he considered dishonest behaviour, insisting that he was financially comfortable and had no reason to beg anyone to return the money.
In an attempt to demonstrate his financial standing, the former governor embarked on an unusual display of his mobile money accounts.
The recording, which was made inside his office, shows Sonko dressed in a towel wrapped around his waist as he confidently places several Samsung foldable smartphones on a table.
He explains that the phone he is holding is not his only handset before proceeding to open the M-Pesa applications on the different devices to show the available balances.
The first phone displays an M-Pesa balance of KSh303,000, accompanied by a Fuliza limit of KSh6,000.
He then moves to another handset, which shows KSh155,000, before opening a third account displaying KSh134,000.
But it is the final phone that attracts even more attention.
After the fingerprint scanner reportedly fails to recognise him, Sonko is forced to enter his M-Pesa PIN manually. The person recording the video carefully angles the camera away to avoid capturing the confidential digits.
Once the account opens, it displays a balance of KSh105,000 alongside a Fuliza limit of KSh42,000.
The KSh42,000 Fuliza limit has particularly caught the attention of Kenyans, with many joking that the amount is considerably higher than what they earn in an entire month.
Fuliza, Safaricom’s mobile money overdraft service, allows eligible M-Pesa users to complete transactions even when they do not have sufficient funds in their accounts. Individual limits vary depending on a customer’s usage patterns and credit assessment.
Following the resurfacing of the footage, Kenyans flooded social media with humorous reactions.
One commenter joked that KSh42,000 was equivalent to their entire monthly salary, suggesting that Sonko’s overdraft limit alone could comfortably sustain them for weeks.
Another wondered how ordinary Kenyans were supposed to feel about their financial situations when even a wealthy personality like Sonko was using Fuliza.
A third social media user humorously revealed that their own Fuliza limit stood at just KSh1,200, making the difference between their financial circumstances and Sonko’s displayed limit even more amusing.
Others focused on the number of smartphones he had placed on the table, joking about the different M-Pesa accounts and the amount of money displayed across the devices.
Although the footage has generated excitement, the figures shown represent account balances and credit limits at the time the video was recorded. They should not be interpreted as Sonko’s current financial position.
Nevertheless, the resurfaced recording has once again reminded Kenyans of Sonko’s flamboyant personality, extravagant lifestyle and entertaining approach to defending his wealth.
For many social media users, however, the biggest takeaway was not the KSh303,000 M-Pesa balance but the KSh42,000 Fuliza limit that left some wondering what Safaricom would have to say about their own accounts.
