Nairobi MCAs Should Not Have Been Stopped From Impeaching Sakaja – ODM MP

Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga has faulted the decision to block Nairobi MCAs from pursuing the impeachment of Governor Johnson Sakaja.

Speaking on Thursday, September 4, Ruth argued that the MCAs' expression of no confidence in Sakaja ought to have been respected.

"MCAs are the overseers of the county governments, and therefore the fact that the MCAs of Nairobi came out and expressed no confidence in Governor Johnson Sakaja should have been recognized and allowed to go through with that petition," she said.

Ruth maintained that the MCAs had the mandate to pursue impeachment if they felt aggrieved, instead of halting the process midway.

"The Nairobi MCAs should have continued with their process; if they felt offended, they should have impeached Sakaja and let him go to the Senate for it to decide whether he is right or wrong.

"To stop the process when there are already grievances, I feel disappointed in what Nairobi MCAs have done; they should have gone through the process," she added.

On Tuesday, September 2, ODM leader Raila Odinga met ODM-aligned MCAs at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation, where he persuaded them to suspend the impeachment motion.

At the same time, President William Ruto convened a meeting at State House, Nairobi, with UDA MCAs and urged them to back down from the push.

Sakaja, who attended both sessions, pledged to enhance collaboration with MCAs and increase transparency in how development funds and bursaries are distributed.

"We have held a meeting with Azimio MCAs and agreed that the impeachment motion should be dropped so that Nairobi leaders can sit down and work together for the people of Nairobi.

"We have stated, as ODM leaders, that we have given Sakaja one month to sit down with the MCAs and agree on how they will work together," ODM Party Chairperson for Nairobi George Aladwa said after the meeting with ODM MCAs.

At the same time, law scholar Makau Mutua explained why efforts to impeach Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja are unlikely to succeed.

In a statement on Wednesday, September 3, Mutua noted that the political situation at play makes such an attempt unrealistic and politically self-defeating for the ODM Party.

"If you understand politics, you should know it’s a head-scratcher to impeach Governor Sakaja. Given the matrix, such a gargantuan political blunder can’t happen, even in the citadel of the United States. It would be an own-goal by the ODM party in the midst of the silly season," he stated.