Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja on Friday, September 20, 2024, hit out at the embattled Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, telling him to keep Nairobi residents out of his politics.

Sakaja, who remarked that he had avoided a confrontation with Gachagua for a long time, indicated that he had been moved to speak out after the second in command held a meeting in the heart of the city and reportedly misinformed traders speaking in his vernacular.

“I have for long avoided responding to the Deputy President’s tribal diatribe, but today’s activities leave me no choice. This morning, in a misinformed tribal diatribe, and while speaking in vernacular in the heart of our nation’s capital, you have chosen to use falsehoods to incite traders against the measures we are taking,” Sakaja remarked.

This comes just days after Gachagua advised Sakaja against a planned relocation of traders from the Wakulima Market in the city, noting that he had been receiving complaints since he had guaranteed them that their businesses would not be disrupted.

“My younger brother Governor Johnson Sakaja, traders from Wakulima Market, Nairobi County, have called me and reminded me of the undertaking you and I jointly gave them in July 2022 as I campaigned for you in Muthurwa,” Gachagua said on September 12, 2024, adding: “Kindly, do consider having a sitting with the leadership of the market to agree on whatever changes your government desires without adversely affecting their livelihoods.”

Sakaja responded by telling Gachagua that he had his phone number and that he could easily call him to discuss the issues.

However, Sakaja now states that Gachagua has yet to reach out to resolve the contentious matters that had arisen from the city decongestion exercise.

“To Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua I say: If only you had taken your phone and called me as I had suggested, you would have learnt a few things,” Sakaja stated.

Adding: “What we will not allow are traders endangering their lives by selling their wares on the roadside. They will move to Kangundo Road Market. However, if you have sufficient space outside your office on Harambee Avenue, I am sure they will be happy to display their wares and ply their trade in that safe environment.”

The Nairobi governor also clarified that traders at the Marikiti market would not be affected by the displacement, noting that only selected produce would be delivered to the other markets to help with decongestion efforts.

He emphasised that his government would not be engaged in politics at the expense of the safety of traders in the city, noting that traders selling their wares along the roads risked danger from vehicles.

“We agreed on these and other measures that will ease congestion in the market and improve the safety and welfare of our traders and citizens. We will not allow you to take us back,” Sakaja noted.

Adding: “Nairobi is a cosmopolitan global hub that will operate in an orderly manner. I can assure you of that. I know you are dealing with other weighty and impending political issues. Keep the people of Nairobi out of it.”