Sakaja meets MCAs as he works to snuff planned impeachment motion
By Alvin Mwangi, September 11, 2024Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has moved quickly to counter a planned impeachment motion against him after he held a closed-door meeting with MCAs affiliated to the Azimio coalition.
The meeting on Monday came amid heightened talks on the planned motion.
One of the MCAs who attended the meeting, but who requested anonymity in order to speak frankly about the issue, revealed that Sakaja pleaded with them to drop the impeachment plan and instead direct their energy towards helping him deliver to city residents.
“Sakaja was quite bothered about the impeachment rumours and he told us to shelve the plans and work with him. He told us that the President was very keen [on] seeing a changed city compared to the past,” said the MCA.
Sakaja had earlier taken a few of the MCAs to State House for a meeting with President William Ruto.
The State House meeting was attended by Makadara MP George Aladwa, who is also the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Nairobi county chairperson.
The impeachment talk was sparked by Kileleshwa MCA Robert Alai (pictured right) two weeks ago when he accused Sakaja of using ODM leader Raila Odinga for political protection.
Even so, some Azimio MCAs who have been critical of the governor claimed they were not invited for the meeting at Sakaja’s private office in Riverside Drive.
At the weekend, Sakaja was among dignitaries who accompanied Raila to a cultural event held at the opposition leader’s Opoda farm in Bondo, Siaya county.
Sakaja broke the news via a post on his X account reading in part: “The Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Museum is also one of the best collections I’ve seen of the history of the departed sage pathfinder Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, the history of Kenya’s liberation, East Africa and Africa.”
He also paid tribute to Raila’s late firstborn son Fidel Odinga, who died in January 2015, by visiting his graveside. “I also deeply appreciate the opportunity to visit my brother Fidel’s final resting place, 9 years after the great Obange left us,” he posted on X.
While this could pass as a normal visit, the meeting between Sakaja and Raila has generated talk on both sides of the political divide at City Hall.
In the county assembly, the Azimio coalition enjoys a majority over Sakaja’s Kenya Kwanza coalition with 44 MCAs against the latter’s 36.