Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja is at the centre of a deepening standoff with the Senate after police moved to arrest him over failure to honour multiple summons on county financial accountability.
According to The Standard, Sakaja is believed to have gone into hiding as law enforcement officers intensified efforts to execute a Senate-issued arrest warrant.
Police officers were reportedly deployed at City Hall in Nairobi, where they attempted to apprehend the governor before he slipped out of reach.
The confrontation stems from Sakaja’s repeated absence before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee, which is probing Nairobi County’s financial records.
Senators have raised concerns over billions of shillings in expenditure that remain unverified, escalating pressure on the county leadership to account for the funds.
Confirming the operation, Nairobi County Police Commander stated that the Senate acted within its constitutional mandate.
“The Senate has powers to direct Sakaja be brought before it. Accordingly, the senators summoned the governor of Nairobi but he did not honour the summons. They issued a warrant of arrest through the Inspector General, and we are here to pick him and present him before the Senate,” he said.
The unfolding standoff highlights a broader crisis between the Senate and county governments.
Reports indicate that at least 25 governors have similarly failed to appear before the Senate to respond to audit queries, raising concerns about accountability across devolved units.
In response to the defiance, senators have begun adopting audit reports without input from the affected governors, a move that could have far-reaching implications on county finances and oversight mechanisms.
Sakaja had earlier dismissed the arrest attempts as unnecessary, framing the dispute as a wider institutional disagreement between the Senate and county governments.
Political observers say the situation could set a precedent for how far the Senate can go in enforcing compliance among county chiefs.
Attention now turns to whether Sakaja’s looming arrest will compel other governors to submit to parliamentary oversight or deepen resistance within the devolved system.