Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja’s political lifeline now depends on ODM party leader Raila Odinga’s intervention, as a fresh impeachment bid now seems to be a matter of when and not if.
Already, the former premier has met Nairobi County Assembly leadership twice within four days –Friday and Monday – in a bid to prevail upon them to whip their colleagues to drop the impeachment plan.
But both meetings have failed to reach an agreement, with another scheduled today.
The bid to remove the first-term governor from office by impeachment has been gaining momentum with 87 MCAs already appending their signatures in support of the ouster Motion.
The numbers have increased from 70 MCAs recorded on Friday last week, with a special sitting planned to commence the process.
The county assembly adjourned for a one-month recess on August 7 and will resume sittings on September 23, 2025.
But Standing Orders allow the Majority Leader to petition the Speaker to convene a special sitting if the petition is supported by one-third of the members- 41- a route the MCAs have signalled they would take.
Attempts to have the MCAs go slow on the ouster plan seemed to have hit a political brick wall last week, with the process of signature collection gathering pace despite initial intervention by Mr Odinga.
The Friday meeting, which was said to be tense and lasted several hours, included Mr Sakaja, who was elected on a United Democratic Alliance ticket, and was held at Mr Odinga’s Karen residence.
According to sources, the meeting began at 10am up to evening but did not arrive at an agreement to drop the impeachment plan.
Instead, the former premier is said to have asked the governor to address the grievances, including releasing money for bursaries and development in the wards.
However, Mr Odinga is said to have assured the governor that he would reach out to the rest of the leadership this week, this time including the leadership of the minority side. ODM is the Majority while UDA is the Minority side in the assembly.
The Monday meeting, which was held at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation in Upper Hill, Nairobi, went on for hours without any firm agreement. The group later had lunch at a Nairobi hotel along Ngong Road.
Nairobi County Governor Johnson Sakaja.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
According to a source at the meeting, the session was stormy. Majority Leader Peter Imwatok, Speaker Ken Ng’ondi, Majority Chief Whip Moses Ogeto and Finance and Budget committee chairperson Wilfred Odalo came under attack from their minority colleagues who claimed they had been sidelined at the assembly.
Former South C MCA Osman Khalif, now liaison officer in Governor Sakaja’s office and Chief of Staff David Njoroge also featured in the talks as they were accused of blocking access to the governor.
“We have another meeting after lunch between ourselves. This one will not have Raila. Tomorrow (Tuesday), we will have another meeting with Raila again,” said the source.
The Friday meeting came after Mr Sakaja reached out to a veteran Nairobi politician with Western Kenya roots to plead with a powerful Nyanza MP – with Mr Odinga’s ear – to organise the meeting.
The Friday meeting had only the majority side of the leadership but yesterday’s meeting had to be expanded after it became apparent that stopping the impeachment plan was not going to be a walk in the park.
The series of meetings comes at a time when the MCAs have accused the governor of being out of touch with Nairobi’s challenges, incompetence and neglect of ward-level development projects.
Mr Sakaja has been on an overdrive to scuttle the ouster plot since it became obvious last week that the MCAs were hell bent on making good their threat of removing him from office.
Majority Leader Peter Imwatok.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
According to the Nairobi County Assembly Standing Orders, signatures from one-third of the MCAs are needed for an impeachment motion to be tabled.
This means that at least 41 out of 123 MCAs must append their signatures on the motion for it to be approved for tabling.
The assembly always has 124 MCAs, but the death of Kariobangi North MCA Joel Munuve in April robbed them of one member.
A successful impeachment at the assembly will, however, require a two-thirds majority, in this case, 82 MCAs voting in support of the motion.
Deputy Minority Leader Waithera Chege said they will not wait until they resume normal sittings later this month but will occasion a special sitting.
The MCAs have been guarded on who the mover of the motion will be, only saying the identity will be known on the day they are tabling the motion.
However, calling for a special sitting will have to come from the office of the majority or minority leadership and be effected by the speaker.
Article 32 (1) of the Standing Orders dictates that “whenever during a session the County Assembly stands adjourned, whether or not a day has been appointed for the next meeting, the Speaker may, on the request of Leader of the Majority Party or the Leader of the Minority Party, appoint a day for a special sitting of the County Assembly.”
“We cannot wait for the resumption of normal sittings. We must execute it now. We will ask for a special sitting,” said Ms Chege.
“Tell them (the doubting Thomas’) to watch this space. Nairobi is not Kericho. We are a unique county,” she added.
Mountain View MCA Maurice Ochieng maintained that the impeachment motion is a members-driven campaign that should not be curtailed by leaders who are meeting Mr Odinga.
Nairobi County Assembly.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
“That is their meeting. This process was started by members, not leaders. It has nothing to do with the party. Let them meet as much as they can. We will continue with our agenda, and we are asking the speaker to call for a special sitting,” Mr Ochieng said.
Baba Dogo MCA Geoffrey Majiwa added: “The leadership has a stern warning from members not to come back with excuses that they have been prevailed upon, like they have done in other instances.”
Speaking to the media on Monday over the expected impeachment motion, the MCAs stated that they have been patient enough with the governor and sending him home was the only solution.
Roysambu MCA Sospeter Mumbi claimed the county has collapsed, with all sectors barely functioning.
“Unfortunately, we have an executive that is unresponsive. We have ended up carrying the burden of the Executive, and we are here to say enough is enough, let everyone carry their cross, that is why we are ready to impeach the governor of Nairobi,” Mr Mumbi said.
According to the members, the roads in their wards are dilapidated, yet the county leadership has been reluctant to release Ward Development Funds.
“We pass budgets here every year, and we don’t understand why contractors are not taking jobs to do our work. We wonder who are these people being paid our money,” Mr Majiwa said.
The MCA argue that while the county has several sectors that need the governor’s attention, his priority has been the school feeding programme, which is also under scrutiny at the moment.
“The only thing that he talks about is Dishi na County, which is also shrouded in scandals and is not very clear. It is now upon the assembly committee to investigate it and tell us what can be done about it. He promised many things that he is not able to deliver,” the MCA said.
Also, the governor has been accused of ignoring MCAs and opting to govern with total disregard to the existence of the assembly.
Mr Majiwa said that MCAs have united to send the governor home for failing to listen to the assembly leadership.
“The system seems not to be working because of lack of coordination. Our governor is a one-man guitar; he is not a team player. He wakes up from his house and just does things that will not get to a conclusion; he is a pure PR guy.”
Kileleshwa MCA Robert Alai.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Kileleshwa MCA Robert Alai stated that they have highlighted 20 grounds for the governor’s impeachment, accusing him also of being unavailable.
“We have found that the fish has rotted from the head. We have tried to highlight this, but he, Sakaja, has looked for excuses why he is not doing it,” Mr Alai said.
Among other grounds that the MCAs have mentioned are uncollected garbage in the city, illegal eviction of people from the houses, payment of contractors, and misappropriation of public funds.
The governor has also been accused of privatising some functions without the input of MCAs, yet such functions should be carried out by the county.
“He is privatising acts like vaccination, things which are supposed to be performed in Nairobi County, even people who are handling food in Nairobi are now being given certificates by private health providers…it is not fair for Nairobians that Arthur Johnson Sakaja continues being the governor of Nairobi. We demand that he exit as the governor of Nairobi.”
Mr Alai stated that the impeachment of the governor will be driven by the members, dismissing the allegations that there could be forces from the outside who are behind it.
Mr Alai stated that the meeting that was held by Mr Odinga with the governor on Friday will not stop them from delivering their oversight mandate.
Elected on President William Ruto’s ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party, Governor Sakaja has had to strike a political truce with Mr Odinga’s ODM – the majority side in the assembly – for a political lifeline.
The late Munuve, an independent MCA, had initiated the process of collecting signatures from MCAs to back his impeachment motion against Mr Sakaja in 2023, only to drop the matter later following what he termed as threats to his life. He later died in April, 2025.
Since then, another attempt to remove the governor from office on allegations of incompetence and misuse of public resources failed prematurely.
Last month, the Assembly County Clerk Edward Gichana received a petition from Maxwell Achar, former Korogocho MCA, seeking to impeach the governor on the grounds that the governor violated his office by sponsoring goons during the recent Gen Z demonstrations.
The petition stated that Governor Sakaja had failed to uphold the oath of office and instead has grossly violated the Constitution of Kenya, has abused the office and that his conduct is wanting.
However, the petition was defeated when Speaker Ng’ondi ruled that only sitting members of the county assembly have the power to remove the governor.
Mr Sakaja received ringing praises from some top ODM leaders, who proceeded to prod him to join the Orange party ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Mr Odinga, his wife Ida, and ODM national chairman Gladys Wanga are some of the leaders who appeared to endorse Mr Sakaja.
“I want Nairobi to remain united and strong. My son here (Mr Sakaja) will take charge,” Mr Odinga said in February before heading to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the African Union Commission chairperson elections.
Mr Odinga’s statement was interpreted as an endorsement of Governor Sakaja ahead of 2027 elections. However, Ms Wanga was quick to say that the former premier only supported Mr Sakaja for his current term.
She said Mr Sakaja has embraced ODM leadership in Nairobi in his pursuit to deliver on his promises to the people of Nairobi.
“Jakom (Raila) didn’t speak about 2027. Sakaja is the current governor, and he needs the support of ODM, which forms the majority in the assembly, for him to deliver. Raila made no mention about 2027, but about Sakaja’s current role as Nairobi governor,” said Ms Wanga.
In response, Mr Sakaja said he would convene a meeting with all women ODM leaders in Nairobi to chart a way forward.
“I have heard what Governor Wanga and Aladwa have said. Dalili ya mvua ni mawingu na mwenye macho haambiwi tazam a (the sign of rain is clouds, and he who has eyes has seen),” said Mr Sakaja.
