From the boardroom to the cockpit, from Parliament and the pulpit, Nairobi’s gubernatorial race is attracting an eclectic cast of aspirants seeking control of Kenya’s political and economic capital.
Governor Johnson Sakaja, former pilot and Kasarani MP Ronald Karauri, as well as Makadara MP George Aladwa, who are all eying the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket, have already turned the party’s nominations into a potentially bruising contest.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja addresses ODM supporters during a mega rally in memory of Raila Odinga at Jacaranda Grounds on October 31, 2026.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
Outside ODM, Embakasi East MP Babu Owino and his Embakasi North counterpart James Gakuya are positioning themselves on the Mwananchi Party and Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) tickets respectively, while former Starehe MP, Bishop Margaret Wanjiru, is pursuing the seat through Kenya Moja Movement Party.
The stage appears to be set for what political pundits refer to as a contest that will test party structures, personal networks and competing visions for the city’s 2,743,155 votes.
Former Principal Secretary Irungu Nyakera and businesswoman Agnes Kagure, who had initially set their sights on the post, have since drifted away as the contest gathers steam.
Former Housing Principal Secretary Irungu Nyakera.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The race for the City’s governor seat clearly entered a new phase on Monday when Mr Sakaja formally defected from the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) to the ODM, declaring his intention to seek a second term on the party’s ticket.
This followed Mr Karauri’s move to attend the ODM Party rally at Jacaranda grounds last Saturday, where he signalled the possibility of formally joining the outfit.
The field could widen further, but the early alignments already reveal the stakes: a crowded contest in which party tickets, alliances and candidates’ records may prove as decisive as campaign promises.
Mr Sakaja’s switch is the most consequential development so far. Welcomed at Chungwa House by senior ODM officials, he presented his entry as a return to a political home rather than a tactical manoeuvre. “Baba [Raila Odinga] is the one who told me to join ODM,” he said, invoking his relationship with the party’s late founder.
He also sought to frame his candidacy around continuity and performance. “I bring with me the commitment I had to service, experience, energy and conviction that the next phase of our politics must be measured not simply by elections we win but the lives we transform,” he said.
The governor has also walked into a party whose established aspirants are not prepared to surrender the ticket. Mr Aladwa, ODM’s Nairobi chairman, has insisted that newcomers must face nominations.
Makadara MP and ODM Nairobi branch chairperson George Aladw George Aladwa addresses delegates during the party's branch meeting at Pumwani Grounds in Nairobi on November 12, 2025.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
“The journey to Nairobi’s leadership must be guided by the will of the people, fairness and democratic principles. I remain focused, confident and committed to our shared vision. The people’s voice must prevail,” he told Nation yesterday.
Mr Karauri is bringing a different proposition to the race. A former Kenya Airways captain and SportPesa chief executive, he says his experience in aviation, business and constituency politics equips him to run a complex county government.
Elected Kasarani MP in 2022 as an independent candidate, he is now eying the ODM ticket.
“Nairobi has tried a corporate manager who struggled with its politics, then a street politician who struggled with its institutions,” he told the Nation. “I have run an operation, run a business and won an election, and in Kasarani you can go and check the results.” He says every promise, contract and shilling should be publicly traceable to residents.
He returns to years in the cockpit. “I flew for Kenya Airways for 11 years, five of them as a captain. In a cockpit, nobody takes off on an assurance: you check, you record what you did, and you sign for it,” he said. “Garbage collected on a day residents can rely on, blocked drains cleared ahead of the short rains, and improvements along one major commuter road,” he said, outlining his immediate priorities.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja speaks at Chungwa House in Nairobi on Monday, November 2, 2026, following his official defection to the ODM, and Kasarani Constituency MP Ronald Karauri during a past event.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo and Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation
Mr Karauri also wants to audit buildings, identify unsafe structures and overhaul development approvals. “If I get to the office, I will do an audit. The audit will establish which buildings are unsafe and need to be demolished, which buildings under construction don’t have necessary approvals, and which don’t have proper professionals monitoring the progress of the construction so that no lives are lost,” he said.
The Kasarani legislator promises to implement these projects “without additional taxes imposed on the people of Nairobi.”
Asked how this will be realised, he told Nation: “City Hall reports local revenue of more than Sh15 billion last year, but the Controller of Budget’s figures show it fell about Sh6 billion short of its target. Nairobi is also owed about Sh59 billion in uncollected revenue, more than the other 46 counties put together.”
“Going digital was a good start. The next step is collecting what is owed and matching every payment to what reaches the county’s accounts. We must stop paying for work nobody can show was done and cut spending that does not benefit residents,” said Mr Karauri.
He went on: “The latest audit shows about Sh1.4 billion spent on domestic travel and subsistence in a single year. I will review the inherited budget immediately and submit a revised budget to the County Assembly within weeks, through the proper process, to redirect money towards these priorities.”
He also promised to address the “Nairobi water menace,” and “address staffing and medicine stocks in county hospitals and clinics to ensure a healthy city.”
His attack on Mr Sakaja after the defection sharpened the contest. “Sakaja won Nairobi on a UDA ticket. He’s not leaving UDA because of any problem with the party — he’s running to ODM because he thinks a new colour will make people forget his record,” the MP said.
He listed collapsed buildings, flooding, garbage and unpaid bursaries as issues the governor must answer for.
Mr Gakuya, meanwhile, is seeking to convert DCP’s growing Nairobi network into a credible challenge.
Embakasi North Member of Parliament James Mwangi Gakuya.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
DCP Party leader and ex-Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua introduced him to Kenyans in Dallas during his United States tour as “the MP for Embakasi North and Nairobi Governor aspirant James Gakuya”. The endorsement places the legislator within the former deputy president’s wider strategy to build DCP as a force in the capital.
Mr Gakuya has argued that Nairobi needs a fundamental change in management and has promised to transform the Dandora dumpsite, create jobs and restore the city’s image.
“We also need to bring Nairobi to shape. We need to fix it. We have tried many managers here before, and they have not proved it right,” he said. He wants the capital to aspire to the standards of cities such as Dallas and Seattle.
Mr Owino, the Embakasi East MP elected on an ODM Party ticket in 2022 has made clear that he will not depend on ODM to secure his path to City Hall.
He has acquired the Mwananchi Party and intends to run on its ticket, while maintaining his association with Linda Mwananchi. The movement has endorsed him for the Nairobi governorship as it backs Senator Edwin Sifuna for the presidency.
Embakasi East Constituency MP Babu Owino speaks at Sarova Stanley during the Linda Mwananchi forum reviewing the broad-based government’s 10-point agenda report on March 11, 2026.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
The relationship between the two has been publicly emphasised by both men. In August, Mr Owino declared: “I support Sifuna fully. No one in Linda Mwananchi knows Sifuna more than me.” He added: “We have gone through a lot in ODM together. I am 100 per cent with you, Sifuna.”
Accordingly, Mr Sifuna publicly acknowledged his ambition, and declared at the launch of The Equitable Party (now Linda Mwananchi Movement) that “my candidate for Nairobi County is none other than Mheshimiwa Babu Owino.”
Mr Owino has acknowledged that his ambition for Governor of Nairobi and Mr Aifuna’s ambition for the presidency do not conflict.
“Sifuna is our presidential candidate, Linda Mwananchi, and that is very clear. There is no way I can fight Sifuna because I want to be Governor and he wants to be President. Don’t bring tension where there is none,” he said amid reports of conflict with the Nairobi senator.
He went on: “I have made a decision that we have one political party, but if it can’t happen, then we should have a coalition because it is coalitions which have won elections in this country.”
Ms Wanjiru is another contender who has refused to be pushed aside. Having acquired the Kenya Moja Movement Party, she says she will not trade away her gubernatorial ambition in coalition talks.
“The positions in Nairobi are too many. If somebody wants to sit at the table and negotiate, the positions are too many. But this one, that I will not compromise, I will not let go, because I do not want to let down my voters,” she told the Nation.
For ODM, analysts say, the challenge is particularly sharp.
“The party could face a contest among Sakaja, Aladwa and Karauri for its ticket, while Babu’s independent party route creates another competing centre of gravity among voters who might otherwise support the Orange outfit,” argues Geoffrey Mboya.
He adds: “ODM must decide whether to privilege incumbency, internal loyalty or the candidate it believes can best hold Nairobi.”
“Aladwa must demonstrate that party roots can translate into citywide appeal. Babu must prove that his support extends beyond Embakasi East and Karauri must show that corporate discipline and constituency projects can scale to a county of millions while Gakuya needs to turn Gachagua’s backing into a broad coalition, and Wanjiru must build a viable citywide organisation,” the political analyst says.
