MP Babu Owino faults President Ruto for 'shielding' Sakaja from impeachment

Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino has accused President William Ruto of meddling in the Nairobi County Assembly’s oversight role, after a motion to impeach Governor Johnson Sakaja was suspended following interventions by the Head of State and ODM party leader Raila Odinga.

Owino argued that by blocking the MCAs from proceeding with the motion, the President was undermining accountability and shielding the Governor from legitimate scrutiny.

“Even if the MCAs were not given anything, the Nairobi Governor is destroying the capital city county. As the President, the MCAs are ready to kick him out of office. Why don’t you allow the MCAs to do their work? Isn’t that supporting corruption?” Owino posed.

Owino dismissed calls for Sakaja to be given more time to deliver, insisting that three years had already been wasted under his leadership.

“For those trying to project the Nairobi Governor saying he should be given more time, if he hasn’t been able to do something for three years, he can’t do it in two years,” he said.

The Embakasi East lawmaker, who has announced his bid for the Nairobi governorship in 2027, maintained that the capital needs fresh leadership to restore order and development.

The impeachment motion, which cited alleged mismanagement and poor service delivery in the city, was dropped this week after UDA MCAs were summoned by President Ruto and their ODM counterparts by Raila Odinga.

ODM Ward Representatives put the plan to impeach Governor Sakaja on hold for 30 days following Odinga’s intervention.

At State House, Nairobi, President Ruto secured more wiggle room for the beleaguered Governor by persuading UDA MCAs to work with him.

The MCAs presented their concerns, which they said were sufficient to impeach Sakaja. The ward representatives, who had already secured enough signatures, accused the Governor of sidelining them and implementing development projects without consultation.

They questioned how the Ward Development Fund had been utilised, as well as the criteria used to select projects and award bursaries in the county.