{"id":120827,"date":"2025-09-03T13:03:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T13:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/09\/03\/sakaja-the-puppet-governor-surviving-on-ruto-and-railas-grip\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T13:03:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T13:03:09","slug":"sakaja-the-puppet-governor-surviving-on-ruto-and-railas-grip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/sakaja-the-puppet-governor-surviving-on-ruto-and-railas-grip\/","title":{"rendered":"Sakaja the \u2018puppet\u2019 Governor surviving on Ruto and Raila\u2019s grip"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>NAIROBI, Kenya Sep 3 \u2013 Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja is clinging to power by the grace of Kenya\u2019s two most powerful men, President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga. <\/p>\n<p>Without their intervention, his three-year reign at City Hall would have collapsed under the weight of an impeachment.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, the President summoned UDA ward representatives to State House and warned them to abandon the ouster motion. <\/p>\n<p>Almost simultaneously, Raila convened ODM MCAs and MPs in Nairobi, pressing them to drop their push to eject Sakaja. <\/p>\n<p>Their combined pressure saved the Governor from what looked like certain political death.<\/p>\n<p>The survival, however, came at a cost as Sakaja now stands exposed as a leader who owes his position not to Nairobians or his own record, but to powerful patrons pulling the strings.<\/p>\n<p>When Sakaja swept into office in 2022, he was celebrated as the \u201ccool kid\u201d of politics, a youthful, stylish leader who promised to finally fix Nairobi\u2019s broken systems. <\/p>\n<p>Three years later, Nairobians say those promises lie in ruins. <\/p>\n<p>Infotrak\u2019s latest survey ranked Sakaja a dismal 37 out of 47 governors, with over half of Nairobi residents convinced the county is headed in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe trusted him because he looked different,\u201d said Jane Wanjiru, a resident of Nairobi. \u201cBut the city is still the same mess.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2013 The impeachment that almost was \u2013<\/h2>\n<p>Frustrated by his failures, more than 70 MCAs, well above the legal threshold, had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/news\/2025\/09\/from-cool-kid-to-failed-governor-sakajas-nairobi-nightmare\/\">signed on to impeach Sakaja<\/a> by September 1, 2025. <\/p>\n<p>They cited over 20 charges, including financial misconduct, corruption, water shortages, stalled projects, and poor service delivery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGovernor Sakaja has betrayed the trust of Nairobians,\u201d said one MCA who backed the ouster. \u201cWe are determined to hold him accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What made the revolt unprecedented was its bipartisan nature. <\/p>\n<p>Both ODM and UDA MCAs rallied behind the motion, signalling just how far Sakaja\u2019s political stock had fallen. <\/p>\n<p>For the first time, even Raila\u2019s MCAs openly defied his word, insisting the impeachment was \u201ca members-only process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The rebellion forced both Ruto and Raila to step in. <\/p>\n<p>At State House, the President cracked the whip, warning UDA MCAs that defying him on Sakaja would amount to insubordination. <\/p>\n<p>Across town, Raila marshalled ODM leaders, pleading with them to suspend the impeachment.<\/p>\n<p>By Tuesday evening, the motion had been paused, but not without conditions. <\/p>\n<p>Sakaja was given just one month to resolve pending issues or face another attempt at removal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Sakaja repeats the same mistakes, he\u2019ll have to face the consequences. He has admitted his failures and promised change. We\u2019ll see in a month if he delivers,\u201d said Makadara MP George Aladwa.<\/p>\n<p>The episode left Nairobians asking an uncomfortable question if a governor cannot survive without godfathers, is he really governing at all?<\/p>\n<p>Sakaja\u2019s political journey has always been meteoric. <\/p>\n<p>From nominated MP in 2013, to Senator in 2017, to Governor in 2022, he built a reputation as a rising star. <\/p>\n<p>His charm and flair made him a media darling, and his easy confidence earned him the nickname \u201cNairobi\u2019s cool kid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But charm does not unclog drains or deliver water. <\/p>\n<p>Today, the man once seen as the face of youthful leadership is increasingly viewed as a captive of forces bigger than himself.<\/p>\n<p>Audit reports, citizen anger, and poor rankings have reduced him from golden boy to political liability, surviving not on performance, but on patronage.<\/p>\n<p>For now, Sakaja breathes easier, thanks to the lifeline thrown by Ruto and Raila. <\/p>\n<p>But the impeachment sword still hangs over his head as Sakaja is living on borrowed time and at the mercy of his godfathers<\/p>\n<p>Nairobi\u2019s MCAs remain restless, residents are still angry, and service delivery has not improved.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NAIROBI, Kenya Sep 3 \u2013 Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja is clinging to power by the grace of Kenya\u2019s two most powerful men, President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga. Without their intervention, his three-year reign at City Hall would have collapsed under the weight of an impeachment. On Tuesday, the President summoned UDA ward [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120827\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}