Jump to navigation

Kenya

State House has a problem with Nairobi's political boss

A second term for Governor Sakaja looks unlikely after the Deputy President has made it clear he is not his man

Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja is under growing pressure after Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua hinted that State House was ready to intervene in the governance of the city. The precedent was set when the Nairobi Metropolitan Services office was used by former President Uhuru Kenyatta to take over health, transport, public works and utilities after Sakaja's predecessor, Mike Sonko, became embroiled in impeachment and criminal cases (AC Vol 61 No 10, A clumsy coup).

It is hardly a vote of confidence in the 39-year-old Sakaja.

Winning on Ruto's United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket in August 2022, Sakaja bucked the trend in Nairobi, which backed Raila Odinga in the presidential contest and Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) in the capital's parliamentary seats (AC Vol 63 No 17, Ruto takes his revenge).

His victory in 2022 was widely viewed as evidence of genuine personal popularity.

However, neither of Sakaja's two predecessors as governor – Evans Kidero and Sonko – managed to secure a second term. Long-standing problems with crime in downtown Nairobi have been compounded by complaints about the quality of roads, burst sewers and uncollected rubbish, made worse by several weeks of heavy rains that have caused flooding in parts of Nairobi.

A group of UDA lawmakers in the national and county assemblies are now bringing corruption accusations against Sakaja.

Sakaja blames his difficulties on UDA internal politics.

The UDA did not exist three years ago, but Ruto's dominance is such that the UDA's internal elections, which started in a handful of counties including Nairobi last week, are seen as vital tests of whether governors and other senior politicians will get second terms. The UDA county elections will take place between now and late August.

Sakaja's hopes of a second term may rest on whether he can defeat James Gakuya, MP for Nairobi's Embakasi North constituency, for the UDA chair in the city. Gakuya is believed to have the support of Gachagua.



Related Articles

A clumsy coup

The government expected that curbing the Nairobi governor’s powers would end his career, but the flamboyant Mike Sonko won’t go quietly

The image of suspended Nairobi governor Mike Sonko at State House wordlessly signing powers over to the national government in February appeared to symbolise the presidency's trium...


Ruto takes his revenge

After challenging President Uhuru Kenyatta on his home turf, the Deputy President has pulled off a remarkable political upset

Only the Supreme Court stands in the way of Deputy President William Ruto's final trouncing of his establishment foes in State House, the big media organisations and many of the co...


Secret suit aims at ICC evidence

President Kenyatta is suing Safaricom in the High Court in camera

In perhaps the strongest signal that President Uhuru Kenyatta’s defence team is now preparing for a full-blown trial at The Hague in November, his lead International Criminal...


Picking up the pieces

The High Court’s rejection of the BBI process risks ripping apart a carefully constructed compromise

Having sailed through parliament, the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) bill hit a major and unexpected roadblock on 14 May, when the High Court ruled the constitutional reform pla...


Nyachae and the Fund

Finance Minister Simeon Nyachae and Central Bank Governor Micah Cheserem will be lobbying hard at the 6-8 October annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank t...