Uhuru moves to save Sonko from impeachment threat

President Uhuru Kenyatta with Nairobi MCAs at State House.

President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday gave embattled Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko a lifeline that could save him from impeachment.

Uhuru, who hosted Nairobi County leaders at State House, directed Members of the County Assembly not to impeach the governor, who was also in attendance.

The President said impeaching the governor would complicate service delivery in the city and urged the MCAs to shelve the idea.

“The President told us that should we go ahead with the impeachment, we will have a complicated situation where the national and county government operations will be thrown into disarray,” a source who attended the meeting said.

Makongeni MCA Peter Imwatok has filed an impeachment Motion against Sonko, claiming the Nairobi governor had failed to appoint a deputy, paralysing operations of the county.   

Imwatok also accused Sonko of failing to control county debts and putting the office of the governor to shame. 

At least 60 of the 85 MCAs allegedly signed the impeachment petition before the Motion was tabled in the Assembly. Sonko is also facing corruption charges and has been barred by the courts from accessing City Hall. 

But yesterday, Uhuru asked the MCAs not to proceed with the impeachment Motion for the sake of the county’s prosperity. The President also explained to the leaders, who included County Speaker Beatrice Elachi, why the national government took over some key functions of the county.

He said given the situation in Nairobi where the governor is fighting graft charges and has no deputy, it was only wise to ensure operations are kept smooth.

Early in the week, Sonko signed away the running of Health services, Transport, Public Works and Planning to the national government.

Sonko and Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa signed the agreement at a function witnessed by Speaker of the Senate Ken Lusaka and Attorney General Paul Kihara.  

“We agreed that we will shelve the impeachment and focus on delivering services in conjunction with the national government,” Kariobangi South MCA Robert Mbatia said. 

“The mover of the Motion has no option but to withdraw it because as ODM MCAs, we do not support it,” Imara Daima’s Ken Obuya said.

But Imwatok, who was not at the State House meeting, said he will go ahead with the Thursday’s impeachment.

“I will not be dropping the impeachment Motion and I will table it on Tuesday. My Motion is private and it has not been affected by the meeting,” he said.

The State House meeting was also attended by Lusaka, Wamalwa and Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja.