Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja and Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino on Saturday, September 16, engaged in a war of words in what is becoming a growing hostility.
In a statement on X, Babu Owino accused Sakaja of lying about giving Ksh23 million in bursary forms to members of county assembly (MCAs).
According to him, Sakaja had only issued Ksh6 million to MCAs contrary to an earlier statement stating that Nairobi County has allocated Ksh23 million to all wards.
“Stop lying You gave MCAs 1200 bursary forms at 5k each which amounts to Ksh6 million shillings not 23m which you are claiming,” Babu Owino noted.
“Every ward is supposed to get 23m shillings per year for bursaries, where’s the 17m shillings per ward for 85 wards=1.4B shillings?”
Sakaja Downplays Babu’s Claims
In his response, Sakaja told off Owino’s claims, explaining that his government allocated Ksh7 million for bursary forms.
Further, the Nairobi Governor affirmed that all wards in the county will get Ksh23 million in form of Ward Development Fund, separate from the bursary funds Owino was alluding to.
Also Read: Sakaja Ranked Among Worst Performing Governors
“Bursaries are 7m per ward (85 wards), (2.5 term 1, 2.5 term 2 and 2m term 3), up from 4.5m. Every ward is getting WDF of 23 million for development not bursaries up from 17m,” Sakaja stated in his response.
Moreover, the Saturday night argument was an extension of the recent hostilities between the two politicians.
Sakaja’s Ranking Debate
In an earlier statement on Saturday, Babu Owino criticized governor Sakaja over a recent poll which ranked him among the governors with the lowest approval rating.
The Embakasi East legislator termed Sakaja’s performance as an embarrassment to the people of Nairobi, adding that his government had focused on increasing taxes.
Also Read: Babu Owino’s Photo with Maverick Aoko Sparks Online Uproar
The hostilities come amid rumors stating that Babu Owino is looking to challenge Sakaja for the Nairobi Gubernatorial seat in 2027.
While speaking in a TV interview on Friday, September 15, the second time MP asserted that he is ready to take up the challenge for any political seat in the next elections.
In response to the question of whether he was eying the Nairobi top seat, Babu remained non-committal but insisted that he is ripe for the seat citing his long-time experience in leadership.
