Nairobi Governor, Johnson Sakaja reappeared on Tuesday morning, 31 March, after evading police officers seeking to arrest him over failure to honour summons by a Senate oversight committee.
The Nairobi governor drove himself to Parliament Buildings shortly before noon, arriving in a black Mercedes and accompanied by aides carrying documents, as he prepared to respond to audit concerns for the 2024/2025 financial year.
His appearance followed a tense standoff on Monday when police officers, led by Nairobi Regional Commander Issa Mohammud, camped at City Hall in an attempt to execute orders issued by the Senate County Public Accounts Committee. However, they left without arresting him after he failed to present himself.
The committee, chaired by Moses Kajwang’, had sought assistance from Douglas Kanja after Sakaja ignored multiple invitations to appear before it. Last week, the panel imposed a fine of Sh500,000, citing what it described as contempt of Parliament.
In a statement issued after the attempted arrest, Sakaja criticised the operation, terming it excessive. “The show of force by armed officers was unnecessary,” he said, defending his absence from the hearings.
He maintained that his decision was in line with a broader position taken by governors under the Council of Governors, who are boycotting appearances before the committee over claims of harassment and extortion involving some of its members.
“Today alone, 29 governors were summoned before the County Public Accounts Committee. Only two appeared, and they declined to address substantive matters in line with the CoG’s position until the underlying issues between the Council and Senate leadership are resolved,” Sakaja stated.
The standoff highlights escalating tensions between county governments and the Senate, raising fresh concerns over accountability and oversight as disputes between the two levels of government persist.
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