A section of Nairobi County Members of the County Assembly have resolved to sign a second petition for the impeachment of Governor Johnson Sakaja, despite last week’s efforts led by President Ruto and Raila Odinga to have the MCAs drop plans of ousting the governor.
According to reports, the MCAs drawn from ODM and UDA say allowing Governor Sakaja to continue mismanaging the city risks making them unpopular in 2027, especially after claims of being bribed to save the embattled county chief. The MCAs also dismissed reports doing rounds online that they received Ksh 5 million shillings from the Nairobi County coffers as fake.
On Friday, Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga criticised ODM leader Raila Odinga and President William Ruto for intervening to protect Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja from an impeachment bid.
Ruth claimed the move by the two leaders to persuade Nairobi MCAs to abandon their motion undermined the principle of devolution, which she noted gives ward representatives the authority to oversee county executives without interference.
She said the actions of Raila and Ruto sent the wrong signal about accountability in devolved units.
“The fact that MCAs in Nairobi came out to oversee and say they had no confidence in the governor should have been recognised, and nothing should have been done. They should have been allowed to go through with that petition,” Ruth said.
The Kisumu Woman Rep’s criticism comes amid growing controversy over the suspension of Governor Sakaja’s impeachment motion.
The motion had been gaining momentum among Nairobi County Assembly members before being halted following high-level political intervention.
