The Nairobi City County Assembly is facing significant unrest due to allegations that Governor Johnson Sakaja has interfered with its operations, undermining its ability to perform its oversight functions. Sakaja is accused of compromising the majority of oversight committee members within the Assembly.
In response to these accusations, there are increasing calls within the assembly to dissolve the current committees and reconstitute them from scratch. According to reports, some MCAs aligned with the ruling UDA party, along with a few from ODM, are drafting a motion to disband the existing committees and establish new ones. Governor Sakaja has been accused of using his financial resources to exert control over the committees, despite UDA’s minority position in the Assembly.
Committee memberships are decided by political party leadership, including the minority and majority leaders, as well as party whips, who have the authority to appoint or remove members by simply notifying the Speaker.
Recently, ODM MCA Robert Alai requested his party to withdraw him from all committee roles, citing concerns that the committees had been compromised by Sakaja’s influence. This aligns with similar claims from UDA-aligned MCAs, who assert that the governor has blocked the presentation of reports that are critical of his administration.
Alai specifically accused Sakaja of manipulating committee chairpersons and deputies to prevent the discussion of unfavorable reports and to obstruct the implementation of committee recommendations. In a strongly worded resignation letter, Alai criticized the committee leadership for neglecting critical issues and failing to properly oversee the county executive.
Alai’s resignation also stems from a political conflict with Assembly Speaker Ken Ng’ondi. Their relationship reportedly deteriorated after Ng’ondi influenced ODM leadership to remove Alai from the influential Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Despite a court ruling overturning his removal, the Speaker has yet to reinstate him.
Alai further claimed that MCAs who refuse to be compromised are being ousted from committees. He cited his own experience, stating that he was expelled from the PAC after raising tough questions. He also alleged that after he questioned ICT issues, the majority leader took control of the committee, unlawfully formed an ad hoc committee, and failed to release any reports.
