Kenya, Sept. 3 -- People who follow Kenyan politics often want to know if Ruto and Raila are defending Sakaja from impeachment charges. The recent commotion in the Nairobi County Assembly has brought attention to the problems Governor Johnson Sakaja is having with his leadership.
Top officials stepped in to quiet the storm when there were threats to kick him and Deputy Governor James Muchiri out of office. This decision shows how unstable Kenya's broad-based administration is right now, with the 2027 election coming up.
As the leader of the UDA party, President William Ruto held an important meeting at State House on September 2, 2025. He told UDA MCAs to stop trying to impeach Sakaja. Ruto talked about his own political problems and how they taught him to be strong instead of getting back at people.
He informed the ward reps, "I have been accused the most, but I never let them get in the way of my work." The goal of this intervention was to keep the capital city stable. At almost the same time, Raila Odinga, the leader of ODM, called together MCAs who were members of ODM at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation.
Fred Gumo, a veteran, led the session, which was full of tense disputes. Raila got the lawmakers to stop trying to get Sakaja out of office. He underlined the need of talking to each other and providing services to people in Nairobi.
Sakaja came later and said he was sorry for the worries that had been expressed, such as delayed bursaries and halted projects. The accusations were mostly about Sakaja's supposed ineptitude, corruption, and ignoring MCAs in decisions.
More than 20 allegations were made, including misusing ward development funding and not communicating well. MCAs from both UDA and ODM came together and immediately went over the signature limit.
Robert Alai, the Kileleshwa MCA, led the charge, demanding accountability even though Sakaja's form of government was open to everyone. A big fear was the rumour that Muchiri could become governor and team up with former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua if he were impeached.
Gachagua had already told Sakaja that he was "abandoning his community" by cooperating with the opposition. Analysts said this was a way to see how much power Gachagua had in Nairobi before the by-elections.
This kind of change could break the bond between UDA and ODM, which would undermine Ruto's broad-based pact. To protect political stability, Ruto and Raila defend Sakaja against impeachment charges.
Sources claim the two were worried that a by-election would bring attention to new alliances that would help the opposition. As Kenya's economic centre, Nairobi is very important.
If the government loses control here, it might set a negative example for future elections and hurt the image of concord. Francis Atwoli, the Secretary General of COTU, applauded the leaders on X and called the proposal a "Wamunyoro onslaught" based on ethnic politics.
He connected it to Gachagua's prior attacks on Sakaja over moving traders and matatu problems. Atwoli said that people should focus on governance instead of games of succession. This support helped Sakaja's standing with workers.
MCAs agreed to put off the move for 30 to 60 days so that Sakaja could deal with complaints. George Aladwa, the ODM Nairobi Chair, said that the hold was because Sakaja was committed to reforms.
Waithera Chege of the UDA said the same thing and warned that things could get worse if problems do not go away. Sakaja promised to talk to people more about budgets and initiatives to re-establish trust. This episode puts the power of the broad-based government to the test.
Sakaja was elected on the UDA platform in 2022, but he needs the ODM's assembly majority to get things done. His connections with both Ruto and Raila, from hosting presidential tours to visiting Raila in Bondo, paid off.
But critics like Benjamin Gathiru, the MP for Embakasi Central, termed the defence comical and said that the focus should be on Nairobi's problems. The defence also fights against the idea that there are tribal divisions in cosmopolitan Nairobi.
"We must work with government and opposition to deliver," Sakaja has said in favour of unity. Ruto and Raila's actions strengthen their agreement and push Gachagua's camp to the side. People who follow politics consider this as a gain for stability, but there are still conflicts.
In the end, Ruto and Raila stand up for Sakaja against impeachment charges to promote growth and togetherness. Their actions stopped a crisis and gave Nairobi's leaders a break. Kenyans are watching attentively for meaningful changes as Sakaja works on fixes. This story shows how important county politics and national relationships are.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Bana Kenya.