The impeachment of Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has resurfaced, as County Assembly members attempt to revive the process of the city county chief's ouster.
Addressing the media on Tuesday evening, a section of MCAs led by Minority Deputy Leader Waithera Chege claimed an attempted move to notify the Clerk to verify signatures for the governor's impeachment proved futile after he went missing.
“We were ready to present both the signatures and notice of impeachment. The only problem we’ve had today is that after the House Business Committee sitting, the clerk was nowhere to be seen,” she said.
According to Waithera, who is also the Nairobi South MCA, they raised their grievances with the Speaker
The UDA legislator explained that Tuesday’s delay was due to the clerk’s absence after the Assembly’s business session.
Waithera confirmed that the Speaker had promised that by 11:00 am Wednesday, the clerk would be ready to receive both the motion and any attached documents.
The MCA noted that the motion contains 22 counts, but the details cannot yet be disclosed.
“We cannot mention the figures now, until the clerk receives and counterchecks the signatures,” Waithera said.
She added that legal procedure requires the clerk to submit all documents first to the Speaker’s office for further clarification before the motion becomes official.
Tuesday’s events marked the latest step in a process that began months ago.
The latest impeachment bid comes five months after MCAs abandoned an earlier attempt to remove Sakaja, which was halted after President William Ruto and the late Raila Odinga intervened.
In September 2025, both leaders convened meetings with allied MPs and ward representatives, urging dialogue and focus on service delivery rather than political brinkmanship.
At State House, Ruto met UDA-aligned MCAs and warned them against pursuing the ouster motion. Drawing from his own political experience, he reminded ward representatives, “Leadership demands resilience, not retaliation,” and urged them to put aside differences for development.
Meanwhile, Raila convened ODM MPs and MCAs at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation.
The session, chaired by veteran politician Fred Gumo and later joined by Sakaja, concluded with a consensus to drop the earlier impeachment push, which insiders said would have destabilised the capital.
Calls for Sakaja’s removal continued even after the pause. Embakasi Central MP Benjamin Gathiru, popularly known as Meja Dong, criticised the intervention by Raila and Ruto.
“It is very shameful when the whole of Nairobi’s voters are crying because they are getting poor services, then the handshake brothers can get eight hours to discuss someone incompetent instead of using the eight hours to hear the pleas of Nairobi residents,” he said. The MP added that Nairobians had already made up their minds: “It has already been decided that Sakaja will be a one-term governor. Either way, he must go.”
Sakaja is facing a county assembly that is watchful, impatient, and unwilling to back down if promises of reform remain unmet. For residents, the hope is simple: fewer political battles and better services.
MCAs backing the motion say they have drafted more than 20 charges and believe the evidence against the governor is overwhelming. What began as routine complaints about stalled projects and delayed bursaries, has eventually escalated into a coordinated impeachment push.
