Nairobi Senator Sakaja arrested at Ladies Lounge for partying during curfew hours

By Cyrus Ombati | 4yrs ago | 2 min read

Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja was on Saturday night arrested at a bar in Kilimani, Nairobi for flouting the government's curfew orders. He was released on Saturday morning on a police bond. But he tweeted minutes later saying he had not been arrested.

“Never been arrested. Won’t be. Show me an OB Number,” he posted on his page.

Ironically, Sakaja chairs the Senate ad hoc committee on Covid-19 pandemic. The Committee which was established on Tuesday, March 31, when the Senate held its first session after a short recess. His team has been collecting views on the Pandemic Response and Management Bill. The curfew hours were extended to between 9 pm to 4 am as part of efforts to contain the spread of the pandemic while bars are banned. Police said they received information that a bar, namely Ladies Lounge, was still operating at around 1.10 am and when they visited there they found Sakaja among a group of 10 people seated outside drinking.

The senator was advised to leave but he declined prompting the officer to call her bosses who also failed to convince the lawmaker to depart the premises. Later, the Deputy OCPD Kilimani Adan Hassan with his team joined the other officers at the bar.

"It is then that Hon Sakaja became violent. He incited the others not to get away and was arrested," police said.

The other three refused to give out their names for disobeying curfew orders and inciting the others and in the drama, while others managed to escape. While in custody, the senator was asked to be given a free bond but he refused to leave the cell and instead threatened to transfer all the officers involved in his arrest within 24 hours.

More to follow...