SAKAJA TO BE ARRESTED - SIFUNA

Calls for the arrest of Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has intensified in the Senate after he failed to appear before a committee session that had summoned him to answer questions on county education programmes.

The Senate Standing Committee on Education had invited the governor to respond to questions on the status of Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) initiatives in Nairobi. The meeting was expected to address concerns surrounding funding, infrastructure, staffing and the overall performance of the county’s education sector.

Sakaja’s absence, however, angered several senators who accused him of undermining Parliament’s constitutional oversight role by repeatedly ignoring summons issued by Senate committees.

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna led the criticism, arguing that oversight becomes nearly impossible when governors fail to honour invitations from parliamentary committees. He said monitoring county leadership is extremely difficult when a governor does not show up after being summoned.

Sifuna further suggested that Parliament should consider stronger legal provisions to enforce compliance. According to him, lawmakers may need to introduce legislation allowing Parliament to detain governors who ignore summons, noting that stronger enforcement mechanisms would ensure public officials respect oversight institutions.

Other senators also echoed similar concerns during the tense session, including the Senator for Nandi, Samson Cherargei ,who took a firm stance, arguing that if the Nairobi governor is unwilling to submit to Senate oversight, he should step down from office. Cherargei maintained that accountability to Parliament is part of the responsibility that comes with holding public office.

Meanwhile, the committee chairperson Moses Kajwang warned that the governor must appear before the committee by March 31, adding that the Senate could seek the intervention of the Inspector General of Police to compel his attendance if he continues to ignore the summons.

The latest standoff is not the first time Sakaja has clashed with the Senate oversight committees.
In April 2024, he was fined Sh500,000 after failing to appear before a Senate committee investigating the Embakasi Mradi gas explosion. At the time, senators also threatened to order his arrest if he failed to comply with parliamentary summons.

The governor has also previously been summoned by the Senate’s County Public Accounts and Investments Committee to explain expenditure amounting to Sh76 billion between 2019 and 2023.
In another case in 2023, he failed to attend a meeting concerning audit queries on the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company.

Repeated fines have done little to resolve the standoff, with several lawmakers now arguing that the current penalties are insufficient to deter continued non-compliance.

Under Kenya’s Constitution, the Senate is tasked with overseeing county governments and ensuring that public resources are used responsibly. Senate committees therefore have the authority to summon governors and other county officials to answer questions on governance and expenditure.

Sakaja has previously defended himself against some of the summons, describing certain investigations as politically motivated and alleging that committee sessions can sometimes become hostile or punitive.

During the session, Sifuna suggested that Sakaja may have skipped the meeting while overseeing the unclogging of drainage systems following the recent floods that hit the county. However, the senator dismissed such a reason as insufficient, accusing the governor of “hiding behind the floods” to avoid appearing before the committee.

The recent flooding, particularly in the country’s capital, left 33 people dead and once again placed the embattled governor under scrutiny. Critics accused his administration of failing to effectively manage waste disposal and drainage systems in the city. Sakaja has strongly denied the allegations and has also dismissed calls for his resignation.