Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja on Tuesday, January 10 said he is not in a fight with deputy president Rigathi Gachagua.
The Nairobi governor while speaking during an interview with Inooro TV stated that Gachagua should discuss the matter with him instead of waging war on him in public gatherings.
“I am not in a fight with the deputy president. I respect him as an old man and he is at a higher position than me in terms of the party,” said Sakaja.
“There is a way the national government should relate with the county governments. Although I do not want to speak much about him because he is my boss, there might be somewhere we disagreed, and it would be best for us to sit and discuss instead of taking them to the public.” The governor added.
Moreover, governor Sakaja said the deputy president needs to cultivate a good working relationship with the county’s leadership, adding that president Ruto has been supporting him since his election as the county boss.
“Nairobi will always have special relationship with the National government. What I have done so far is because of the president,” Sakaja noted.
The two leaders have been exchanging words on governor Sakaja’s plans to kick out matatus from the Central Business District (CBD) and the crack down on nightclubs.
The Nairobi governor holds that with full backing of the President William Ruto he will restore what he calls the city’s lost glory by relocating public service vehicle termini and kick out nightclubs operating in residential areas.
However, DP Gachagua who argues that Sakaja’s plan will suppress the economy of Nairobi on Sunday, January 8 asked matatu operators and city businesspeople to ignore Sakaja and continue with their businesses.
Gachagua assured them of the government’s protection against the plan.
Also Read: DP Gachagua Tells Nairobi Matatu, Club Owners to Stay Put
According to the second in command, Kikuyus are the ones who elected Sakaja.
“I mobilized Kikuyus in Nairobi to vote for him and called him. Any decision that he makes which may affect business in Nairobi, we must first sit and discuss.” Gachagua said on December 20, 2022.
In response to this, governor Sakaja accused the DP of victimhood, lies and using the project for political mileage. He noted that the plan is not targeting any ethnic community.
“That is a very bad way of putting it. It is a lie. There is no community being targeted in all these projects and we have had meetings with SACCOs to discuss how we can have order while still supporting business,” he said.
Furthermore, governor Sakaja has sworn not to not relent on the crackdown on nightclubs in residential areas, saying any politician terming it as a war on businesses is misleading people.
“Two wrongs do not make a right. There is a law that says there should not be discos in estates. I have no problem with bars and restaurants. But overnight discos? We must be considerate of others and have do business with order,” he said.
