Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja./FILE
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja can breathe a sigh of relief after Members of County Assembly (MCAs) agreed to shelve a planned impeachment bid.
The MCAs decision was arrived at at two parallel meetings convened by President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga in Nairobi.
Raila was the first one to host Azimio Coalition MCAs at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation (JOOF) offices, while President Ruto hosted UDA MCAs at State House in the afternoon. Sakaja attended both meetings.
At Raila’s meeting, there were tense moments as MCAs initially stood their ground, insisting that the governor has be sent home.
At one time, ODM Nairobi branch Chairman and Makadara MP George Aladwa told the adamant city legislators that the party will consider disciplinary action if they defy their leader and also the possibility of losing the ODM ticket in 2027.
In the end, the majority side agreed to shelve the plan for a few months to give Sakaja an opportunity to meet their demands and agreements made during the meeting.
“We agreed to shelve the plan to impeach Sakaja for now after the meeting with our party leader. We will review the outcome after one month,” Nairobi West MCA Rex Omolleh said.
Omolleh added, “We had a candid discussion, and Mzee agreed with us that the grounds to impeach the governor were strong. However, he advised against instability in the city and impeachment, which will be seen as a win for the Rigathi Gachagua-led opposition.”
Kileleshwa MCA said that they have accepted the request to drop the ouster plan but with reservations.
“The process of impeachment is there, but we have given him one month as Azimio to either change or be sent home,” Alai said.
South C’s Abbas Khalif said they are now aligned with the positions taken but the respective parties and will give Sakaja an opportunity to go and deliver.
“The plan stands dropped in line with resolutions of the two coalition parties that make up the Assembly. Sakaja should now go back to the office and deliver for the great people of Nairobi,” Abbas said.
At State House, sources said the MCAs reportedly told the President to give them the opportunity to exercise their oversight roles, but Ruto reasoned with them to give Sakaja a chance.
“The president told us that he is not stopping us but was requesting dialogue to be given a chance. Consequently, we agreed on condition that after 60 days, we are at liberty to reintroduce the bid if the governor doesn’t address our concerns,” the source said.
The Minority leadership is said to have asked the president to convene a meeting bringing together both sides so as to take a formal and binding agreement with the governor. Following this request, the MCAs are likely to meet Ruto tomorrow depending on his schedule.
Assembly Speaker Ken Ng’ondi, however, said the matter is yet to be formally concluded, as there are ongoing consultations among members.
“By the end of the week, we shall be able to say if the bid has been dropped formally or not,” Ng’ondi said.
Governor Sakaja committed to address a myriad of issues raised by the city legislators in both meetings and has committed to work with the MCAs in order to serve residents of East Africa’s economic hub.
