Nairobi UDA MCAs defend Sakaja amid criticism for snubbing Senate summons

Members of the Nairobi County Assembly allied to the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party have defended Governor Johnson Sakaja against criticism levelled against him over repeated failure to avail himself before Senate committees to answer queries touching on various matters affecting the city.

Sakaja was on Thursday fined Ksh.500,000 for failing to appear before the Senate Energy Committee regarding the February gas explosion at Mradi area in Embakasi.

The Governor had on Monday also snubbed summons from the County Public Accounts and Investments Committee (CPAIC) where he was expected to clarify how Nairobi spent Ksh.76 billion from 2019 to 2023.

In a statement on Friday, Nairobi County Assembly Minority Whip Mugambi Macharia labelled the recent summons as “a political onslaught hoodwinked as oversight,” while at the same time asserting that Sakaja, who he claims was not in office on both occasions, will honour them in due time.

“The Governor and his Executive have been faithfully attending to both the Senate and County Assemblies. In fact, in this financial year alone, the Governor has been to the Senate and more than 11 times and we are sure that he will go there to respond,” said Macharia.

“Many people are not happy at the progress being made. This is why all the noise came after the State of the Nation address where the Governor eloquently outlined progress over the last 19 months. Cartels are not happy and neither are those who used to supply air.”  

Macharia further highlighted that a lot of the challenges facing Nairobi County were inherited from the devolved unit’s past administration, but expressed confidence that Sakaja is capable and willing to address them.

“A lot of the challenges are inherited, just like the audits in question, but the Governor is up to task to take them on. We are the representatives of Nairobi and we should focus on development,” he said.

On Thursday Sakaja clarified why he missed the Energy Committee meeting, stating that he had rescheduled the Senate hearing as he was unavailable, further arguing that the House has adjourned other summons in the past at the request of summoned leaders.

“Sensationalizing a rescheduling and making the Senate appear as if it acts in vain is what belittles the House. Many appearances by other invitees have been rescheduled due to travel, infirmity, or prior booked official engagements,” said Sakaja. 

He added that he had honored Senate summons before and was willing to do so again since it is a constitutional requirement for county bosses.

“I have appeared severally and will continue to do so. I have no reasons not to answer or respond to any questions raised on Mradi or FY 20-22 audits,” he said.