Kisumu County Woman Representative Ruth Odinga has criticised the decision by her brother and ODM Party leader Raila Odinga to intervene to save Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja from impeachment, saying the move disregarded the oversight role of Nairobi MCAs.

In a video shared on Embakasi East MP Babu Owino’s Facebook page on Friday, September 5, 2025, Ruth expressed disappointment with the turn of events, arguing that the county assembly should have been allowed to carry out its constitutional mandate.

“I feel disappointed in what the Nairobi MCAs have done. They should have gone through the process. They should have ensured that we actually uphold devolution. The tenet of devolution states that the MCAs are the actual oversighters of the governor,” Ruth said.

Violation of devolution principles

According to the legislator, the decision to stop the impeachment process violated key principles of devolution that designate MCAs as oversight bodies for county governments.

She insisted that once Nairobi MCAs declared they had lost confidence in Sakaja, nothing should have interfered with their process.

“The MCAs of Nairobi came out to oversight and sayRuth Odinga that they had no confidence in the governor of Nairobi. That should have been recognised, and nothing should have been done. They should have been allowed to go through with that petition,” she added.

Right to impeach Sakaja

Ruth further noted that if the assembly felt wronged, they had the right to impeach Sakaja and let the Senate make a final determination.

“If in case they feel wronged, let them impeach him, let him go to Senate, let Senate then say whether he is right or not. But to stop the process when there was already grievances was wrong,” she said.

She stressed her commitment to devolution and oversight, remarking that undermining MCAs sets a dangerous precedent.

“I am from Kenya, I’m not from Nairobi. I am somebody who is actually a believer in devolution and oversight. Therefore, for me, I feel disappointed in what the Nairobi MCAs have done,” she stated.

Raila saves Sakaja

Her remarks come just days after Raila lobbied MCAs during a closed-door meeting to abandon the impeachment motion, ultimately saving Governor Sakaja from removal.

Addressing the press following the meeting with Raila on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, Makadara MP George Aladwa announced that the dialogue led to a unanimous decision to temporarily halt the impeachment proceedings, giving Sakaja the opportunity to address the assembly’s concerns.

“For the past few hours, we have had discussions where MCAs expressed their issues, and they were heard. With one voice, we agreed that the pending impeachment be postponed and dropped for now,” Aladwa stated.

He added that Sakaja should continue his work while constructively engaging with the assembly and implementing necessary changes based on their feedback.

“I want to sincerely thank our party leader, Raila Odinga, for bringing us together. The MCAs have all agreed to this resolution,” he said.