Africa-Press – Kenya. A section of MPs from Nairobi City has thrown their weight behind Governor Johnson Sakaja amid the recent impeachment efforts as they lauded the MCAs for agreeing to pursue dialogue.
The lawmakers stated that constructive engagement was the only solution to disputes rather than political confrontation.
Addressing the press Wednesday, the MPs led by Phelix Odiwuor (Lang’ata), Beatrice Elachi (Dagoretti North), George Aldawa (Makadara) and woman rep Esther Passaris warned that impeachment attempts risk destabilising Nairobi and, by extension, the country.
“When you destabilise Nairobi, you destabilise Kenya. We want to thank our county assembly members and appreciate that they have agreed to give dialogue a chance,” Elachi said in a statement on behalf of the group.
They asserted that as MPs from the capital, they stand firmly with the governor during what she described as a “simmering period of turbulence.”
They further cautioned against the rising trend of seeking the removal of governors through impeachment, arguing that it undermines development and weakens devolution.
“It is increasingly becoming clear that attempts to remove elected governors from office have become more common. Many of these are speculative, pushed without appreciating that in the middle of a term, it is very difficult to achieve what one had envisioned,” Elachi noted.
By Sunday, the MCAs from both ODM and UDA parties had reportedly collected signatures in a bid to oust the county boss.
However, two parallel meetings convened by President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga in Nairobi saw the planned motion dropped.
Raila was the first one to host Azimio Coalition MCAs at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation (JOOF) offices, while President Ruto hosted UDA MCAs at State House in the afternoon. Sakaja attended both meetings.
At Raila’s meeting, there were tense moments as MCAs initially stood their ground, insisting that the governor has be sent home.
At one time, ODM Nairobi branch Chairman and Makadara MP George Aladwa told the adamant city legislators that the party will consider disciplinary action if they defy their leader and also the possibility of losing the ODM ticket in 2027.
In the end, the majority side agreed to shelve the plan for a few months to give Sakaja an opportunity to meet their demands and agreements made during the meeting.
“We agreed to shelve the plan to impeach Sakaja for now after the meeting with our party leader. We will review the outcome after one month,” Nairobi West MCA Rex Omolleh said.
At State House, sources said the MCAs reportedly told the President to give them the opportunity to exercise their oversight roles, but Ruto reasoned with them to give Sakaja a chance.
“The president told us that he is not stopping us but was requesting dialogue to be given a chance.
Consequently, we agreed on condition that after 60 days, we are at liberty to reintroduce the bid if the governor doesn’t address our concerns,” the source said.
Governor Sakaja committed to address a myriad of issues raised by the city legislators in both meetings and has committed to work with the MCAs in order to serve residents of East Africa’s economic hub.
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