Governor Sakaja's Indirect Response to DP Gachagua over Matatu's in CBD

Nairobi governor has indirectly taken on Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua over the PSVs ban in the Nairobi CBD in a bid to decongest the city.

The governor had vowed to relocate all the matatus from the city centre to the Nairobi Green Park Bus terminus situated at the city's periphery.

The move would not sit well with Gachagua who went ahead to castigate the county boss, reminding him that he mobilised members of the Kikuyu community in the city to vote for him.

In his veiled response to the deputy president a couple of days later, Sakaja suggested that he would not compromise the good plan he has for the city at the expense of a few's interests.

"There are certain things we cannot compromise on…it is about a stand, sticking to it, and providing leadership," he said.

"There is a deep state in terms of statecraft…There are few people who make certain decisions…few individuals who have great influence over billions of resources…but state capture can never be louder than the voice of the people. We have the rule of law," added the governor.

Sakaja responded to the deputy president while appearing in a Citizen TV interview on Monday, December 26.

The deputy president had warned the governor that they would not allow him to mess up with the business activities of the people from the Mt Kenya region.

Speaking in Nyeri Count, the DP took issue with the removal of Matatus from the Central Business District saying the directive would affect many businessmen from the Mt Kenya region.

“Governor Sakaja slow down. I mobilised the Kikuyu votes for you, so don’t hurt our businesses. This idea of removing matatus from town is not good. I will sit down with you so that we can come up with a solution. Matatus should be let to operate freely in town," said Gachagua.

The DP went on to remind Sakaja of the Nakuru case where Governor lee removed the matatus from the CBD.

He said the move by the then governor to remove matatus from CBD cost him his victory on the August 9, polls insinuating that Sakaja may face similar political implications if he maintains his stance on the matatu.

"Lee Kinyanjui tried the same thing in Nakuru and went ahead to remove matatus from town and allocated them to the forest. In the August polls, the residents of Nakuru also removed Kinyanjui from town to the forest,” Gachagua further said.