Nairobi Governor Faces Impeachment Despite £60 Billion State House Deal
Nairobi, 19 February 2026
Governor Johnson Sakaja confronts renewed impeachment threats just two days after signing a cooperation agreement with President Ruto worth £60 billion for Nairobi’s development. Over 55 county assembly members have signed the fresh impeachment motion, dismissing the State House deal as evidence of Sakaja’s incompetence rather than a solution. Senator Edwin Sifuna has condemned the agreement, claiming his office was bypassed and warning it violates constitutional principles by creating a subservient role for the governor under national government control.
MCAs Dismiss State House Intervention as Political Theatre
The cooperation agreement signed on Tuesday, 17 February 2026, has failed to quell the mounting opposition from county assembly members, with more than 55 MCAs having signed the fresh impeachment motion [1]. Deputy Minority Leader Waithera Chege, who represents South B ward, has been particularly vocal in her criticism, stating: “We are telling the governor to either resign or be impeached. He needs to choose one. I have personally put my signature on the new impeachment motion. It is because of his incompetence that we are in this situation” [1]. The scale of opposition is striking, with Chege noting that “every other MCA apart from less than five out of the 85 wards are complaining” [1].
Constitutional Crisis and Senate Opposition
Senator Edwin Sifuna’s intervention on 18 February 2026 has added a constitutional dimension to the controversy, with the Nairobi Senator calling for the cooperation agreement to be shelved entirely [2]. Sifuna’s primary concern centres on procedural violations and the undermining of constitutional governance structures. “My office was neither involved nor consulted before this decision was taken,” Sifuna stated, highlighting that “the so-called Cooperation Agreement itself acknowledges that no public participation was conducted prior to the signing yesterday, a violation of the Constitution too egregious to ignore” [2].
Financial Failures and Revenue Collection Crisis
The impeachment threats are underpinned by alarming financial data that illustrates the scale of Nairobi County’s administrative challenges. Between July and September 2025, unpaid revenues increased by £1.6 billion [5], with land rates defaulters alone accounting for £1.03 billion of outstanding dues [5]. The revenue collection crisis is particularly stark when considering that only 50,000 out of 250,000 registered land parcels currently pay rates [5], representing a collection rate of just 20 per cent.