Ngara Ward Member of County Assembly Chege Mwaura has cast doubts on the effectiveness of a gentleman’s agreement brokered by President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga to shield Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja from impeachment.
Speaking on Spice FM on Thursday, September 4, Mwaura confessed that the sixty-day reprieve the MCAs extended to the governor will not be enough for him to address most of the issues included in the grounds for the now shelved motion.
“The governor will really need a magical streak to make it happen in 60 days. The point is, is there a motive and an intention to deal with these issues so that we see proper evidential movement within the sixty days?” Mwaura said.
Adding, “ The garbage problem, for instance, can’t be sorted out in sixty days. But, what are the practical steps?” he posed.
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Sakaja’s impeachment motion was set for tabling in the Nairobi County Assembly on Monday, September 1, after at least 90 MCAs of the required 42 signed the motion.
The plan was, however, scuttled after Odinga met a section of the MCA at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation on the same day before they met the President on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Mwaura revealed that the representatives demanded funds for bursaries, ward-based projects, a clean city, and well-maintained roads.
It was further agreed that Governor Sakaja must weed out goons and muggers from the streets, address concerns of striking medics, end illegal evictions, and sort out poor drainage that has posed health risks whenever it rains over the capital.
Further, MCAs are accusing the county boss of limiting his interactions with them even in times of crisis when his directions are critical, unlike his predecessors, Mike Sonko and Evans Kidero.
“The governor doesn’t operate a lot from City Hall. He has a private office which is hard to access, and if you do, it’s hard to get him,” Mwaura claimed.
Mwaura, who is also the Secretary General of the County Assemblies Forum, dismissed claims that the county legislators were bribed, insisting that their retreat was out of respect for the party leaders whom they considered to be neutral arbiters.
According to Mwaura, the 60-day mandate was suggested by the President, and a review of progress is expected in 30 days. Poor performance from Sakaja will lead to automatic reintroduction of the ouster motion.
“We’ll reintroduce the motion with better grounds…from November 1 you’ll hear a very different conversation,” said Mwaura, adding, “The President wanted to see part of the [corruption] allegations and told him [Sakaja] straight that if there is good evidence the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) would go for him.”
Both President Ruto and Odinga reportedly seemed irritated by the plan to kick Sakaja and his deputy out of City Hall, an occurrence that would trigger fresh polls in the city.
Mwaura says that a suggestion on a possible return of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) styled body to manage city affairs came up. President Ruto was, however, not keen on taking the route owing to the huge debt incurred by the national government under NMS.
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Ngara Ward Member of County Assembly Chege Mwaura has cast doubts on the effectiveness of a gentleman’s agreement brokered by President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga to
shield Nairobi governor
Johnson Sakaja from impeachment.
Speaking on Spice FM on Thursday, September 4, Mwaura confessed that the sixty-day reprieve the MCAs extended to the governor will not be enough for him to address most of the issues included in the grounds for the now shelved motion.
“The governor will really need a magical streak to make it happen in 60 days. The point is, is there a motive and an intention to deal with these issues so that we see proper evidential movement within the sixty days?” Mwaura said.
Adding, “ The garbage problem, for instance, can’t be sorted out in sixty days. But, what are the practical steps?” he posed.
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on WhatsApp
Sakaja’s impeachment motion was set for tabling in the Nairobi County Assembly on Monday, September 1, after at least 90 MCAs of the required 42 signed the motion.
The plan was, however, scuttled after Odinga met a section of the MCA at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation on the same day before they met the President on
Tuesday and Wednesday
.
Mwaura revealed that the representatives demanded funds for bursaries, ward-based projects, a clean city, and well-maintained roads.
It was further agreed that Governor Sakaja must weed out goons and muggers from the streets, address concerns of striking medics, end illegal evictions, and sort out poor drainage that has posed health risks whenever it rains over the capital.
Further, MCAs are accusing the county boss of limiting his interactions with them even in times of crisis when his directions are critical, unlike his predecessors, Mike Sonko and Evans Kidero.
“The governor doesn’t operate a lot from City Hall. He has a private office which is hard to access, and if you do, it’s hard to get him,” Mwaura claimed.
Mwaura, who is also the Secretary General of the County Assemblies Forum, dismissed claims that the county legislators were bribed, insisting that their retreat was out of respect for the party leaders whom they considered to be neutral arbiters.
According to Mwaura, the 60-day mandate was suggested by the President, and a review of progress is expected in 30 days. Poor performance from Sakaja will lead to automatic
reintroduction of the ouster motion
.
“We’ll reintroduce the motion with better grounds…from November 1 you’ll hear a very different conversation,” said Mwaura, adding, “The President wanted to see part of the [corruption] allegations and told him [Sakaja] straight that if there is good evidence the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) would go for him.”
Both President Ruto and Odinga reportedly seemed irritated by the plan to kick Sakaja and his deputy out of City Hall, an occurrence that would trigger fresh polls in the city.
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Mwaura says that a suggestion on a possible return of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) styled body to manage city affairs came up. President Ruto was, however, not keen on taking the route owing to the huge debt incurred by the national government under NMS.
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By Denis Omondi