DP Gachagua, Governor Sakaja’s Tiff Deepens In Front Of The President
Governor Johnson Sakaja (Left), the President William Ruto and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua (Right) in a past event.
Kenya Kwanza Coalition Government rival siblings Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Nairobi City Governor Johnson Sakaja’s public spats are heating up.
The two, who have on different occasions clashed in public, differed on protocol and policy when President William Ruto officiated the ground-breaking ceremony of the Shauri Moyo affordable housing project in Nairobi on January 27, 2023.
Speaking to residents of Nairobi in the presence of President Ruto, Sakaja laid out a plan to unite the residents and leaders to spur economic development in the city.
“We have stopped politics.” Allow me to bring you all the Nairobi County Assembly members, all the Members of Parliament from UDA, ODM, Wiper, our senator, women’s representatives… we come and talk development. Our problems are the same. “What we want is to unite all of us behind you,” Sakaja asked the president.
The Deputy President, seemingly unhappy with Sakaja bypassing him to marshal Nairobi leaders to meet the president, stated the uniting process should pass through him first before meeting the head of state.
“Well said Governor (Sakaja). But before they (Nairobi leaders) see the president, they have to pass through me first. They should first confirm that they recognize William Ruto as the president of Kenya. I have to vet Babu Owino first to allow him to meet the president,” Gachagua told Sakaja.
The tiff between Gachagua and Sakaja was brewed by the governor’s recent policy pronouncements banning nightclub operations in residential areas and restricting entry by public service vehicles, popularly known as matatus, to the Nairobi central business district.
The declaration triggered a rebellion against him by members of the county assembly (MCAs) in his party, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
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