By Hassan Wekesa - Editor
Kenya, 6 September 2026 - Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja is in a catch-22 situation after Bishop Margaret Wanjiru declared that she will vie for the gubernatorial seat and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) strongman George Aladwa told the incumbent to remain in the United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
Bishop Wanjiru, who contested the senatorial seat in the 2022 General Election on a UDA ticket, said on Sunday that her decision to seek to be elected Nairobi Governor was driven not by personal ambition but by the need to restore dignity to Kenya’s capital.
“I will vie for the Nairobi gubernatorial seat in the 2027 general election so that we can restore dignity to this city,” she stated, adding that she would run under the Kenya Moja Movement.
At the same time, ODM Nairobi branch chairperson and Makadara MP George Aladwa insisted that party primaries would follow established structures.
He dismissed as a fallacy Sakaja’s suggestion that he could cross from UDA and receive a direct nomination in ODM.
Sakaja had recently indicated that, because ODM and UDA were crafting a pre-election pact ahead of the 2027 General Election, he might leave UDA for ODM, citing the good working relationship he had enjoyed with the late former prime minister and ODM leader Raila Amolo Odinga.
“Let him (Sakaja) remain in UDA and leave us with our ODM,” Aladwa said.
Sakaja’s administration has faced growing scrutiny in recent months, with several key allies arraigned on serious charges including bribery and abuse of office.
Former city county planning officer Patrick Analo Akivaga, for instance, attracted headlines after allegedly approving construction of a building in Nairobi’s South C that later collapsed and killed two people.
The High Court in July 2026 prohibited his prosecution by Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga.
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Akivaga, in whose house Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) officers recovered KSh 65 million eaning him the moniker of 'Mr Moneybags', had been due to face charges of arbitrarily authorising the unsafe development.
The governor has also come under pressure for allegedly failing to begin the appointment of a county secretary in line with the Constitution and relevant laws, despite a court order issued on 5 December 2025.
In July he appeared in person before Justice Gregory Mutai and stated that he had already forwarded the name of Dr Machel Waikenda to the Nairobi County Assembly for vetting and approval as County Secretary.
Beyond Bishop Wanjiru, Sakaja faces a further challenge from Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, who has declared his ambition to unseat the governor in 2027.
Owino is a leading figure in the Linda Mwananchi faction of ODM, which is actively seeking to register a new political party.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, who heads the faction, has announced his own presidential ambitions.
Former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua, addressing Democracy for the Citizens Party supporters in Washington, D.C. in the U.S., declared his readiness to serve as deputy to either Sifuna or Kalonzo Musyoka of Wiper Patriotic Front.
“Sifuna is a serious presidential contender and I can deputise him or deputise Kalonzo Musyoka because we want to make Ruto a one-term president,” Gachagua stated.