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Johnson Sakaja

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Johnson Sakaja
4th Governor of Nairobi City County
Incumbent
Assumed office
25 August 2022
DeputyJames Muchiri
Preceded byAnne Kananu
Senator of Nairobi City County
In office
31 August 2017 – 9 August 2022
PresidentUhuru Kenyatta
Preceded byMike Sonko
Succeeded byEdwin Sifuna
Personal details
Born (1985-02-02) 2 February 1985 (age 39)
Nairobi, Kenya
Political partyUnited Democratic Alliance[1]
OccupationPolitician

Johnson Arthur Sakaja CBS (born 2 February 1985) is a Kenyan politician serving as the governor of Nairobi City County since 25 August 2022. Previously, he served as the Senator of Nairobi from 2017 to 2022, and as a nominated Member of the National Assembly from 2013 to 2017. He was nominated to Parliament by The National Alliance (TNA) party which was part of the ruling Jubilee Coalition (now Jubilee Party).[2] He was the National Chairman of The National Alliance (TNA) until 9 September 2016 when the party merged with 12 others to form the Jubilee Party.[3]

Political life

Sakaja was elected as the Chairman of the Student Organisation of Teams University (SOTU) while studying at the Teams University.[4]

After the 2008 post-election crisis, he contributed to the formulation of the 2010 constitution where he made submissions on the definition of constituency boundaries.[5] At the age of 26, Sakaja helped form The National Alliance (TNA) of which he became the chairman. This was the party that the former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta rode to electoral victory in 2013.

As Senator for Nairobi, Sakaja participated in law making, allocation of national revenue and exercising oversight over national revenue allocated to the county government. He also served as the Chairperson of the Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association, a parliamentary caucus responsible for advocacy of youth empowering policies and legislation as well as mentorship of youth leaders. Sakaja co-authored a book in collaboration with the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists on Representation and Fiscal Decentralization.[6] He served as the Chairperson of the Committee of Labour and Social Welfare, a standing Committee which deals with matters pertaining manpower and human resource planning, gender, cultural and social welfare, national heritage, betting, lotteries, sports, public entertainment, public amenities and recreation.[7]

Parliament

Sakaja was seconded by TNA to the National Assembly as one of its three nominated MPs. In the National Assembly, Sakaja was seconded by Jubilee Coalition to the House Business Committee, the Joint Committee on National Cohesion and Equal Opportunity and Departmental Committee on Finance, Planning and Trade. He is currently the Chairman of the Joint Committee on National Cohesion and Equal Opportunity. Sakaja is also the Chairman of Kenya Young Parliamentary Association[8] which is a caucus made up of MPs who are below 35 years of age.

In his role at Parliament, Sakaja has sponsored bills which the president assented to:

  • Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015 –which essentially provides for "30% Procurement Reservation Criteria" for Youth, Women and Persons with disability.
  • The National Youth Employment Authority Bill, which creates a The National Employment Authority that shall actively seek opportunities for all the jobseekers in its database both locally and internationally, and prepare them for those opportunities through capacity building programs.[9]
  • The Private Security Regulation Bill, which provides for a framework for cooperation between private security companies and the national security organs
  • The Disaster Risk Management Bill, providing for a more effective organization of disaster risk management and mitigation, of preparedness for, response to and recovery from emergencies and disasters

Nairobi Senatorial race 2017

In 2017 Sakaja stepped out of the Gubernatorial race and opted to go for the Senator seat.[10]

2022 Nairobi gubernatorial race

In November 2021, Sakaja declared his interest to vie for Nairobi City Governor's seat in the 2022 Nairobi gubernatorial election. He was subsequently cleared by the IEBC to run for the seat on June 7, 2022.[11] His clearance by IEBC has however remained a point of contention [12] since there is doubt about his academic qualifications. Mr Sakaja won the gubernatorial election with 699,392 votes, while his Jubilee Party opponent Polycarp Igathe got 573,516 votes.[13]

Sakaja is deputized by James Njoroge Muchiri who had been serving as Absa Bank Kenya Ltd Chief Operating Officer. They were sworn into office on 25 August 2022 at Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC). In attendance was the President of Kenya William Ruto among other guests.[14][15][16][17]

Awards

  • African Achievers Award Change-maker of the Year 2016[18]
  • Jacob Well Award 2016 (Men Impacting Differently)[19]

Membership and association

  • Chairman Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association[20]
  • Chairman of the Committee on Labor and Social Welfare
  • Vice Chairman of the Committee on National Security, Defense and Foreign Relations
  • Patron of Kenya Professional Boxing Commission
  • Executive Member Kenya National Private Security Workers Union
  • Patron of AFC Leopards Football Club
  • Member of the Liaison Committee in the National Assembly

Controversies

Sakaja's political career has included several controversies and allegations of corruption. While he claimed to have graduated from the University of Nairobi with Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science, UON in a letter confirmed he was yet to graduate. After this exposure from UON, he presented a Degree in Management from Teams University in Uganda. Further investigations suggested he did not even attend the said university in Uganda.[21][22][23] In December 2020, he was adversely mentioned in a Sh. 7.8 billion KEMSA Scandal. Documents tabled in parliament revealed that the lawmaker received kickbacks from Shop N Buy. A Kenyan official, Charles Juma, who acted as procurement director at KEMSA, alleged that Sakaja pressurized Kemsa CEO Jonah Manjari to award a commitment letter for Shop N Buy.[24]

The High Court has dismissed a petition challenging the validity of Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja’s academic qualifications due to lack of evidence.[25]

Misinformation on various social media

During the 2022 Kenyan General Elections, several pieces of misinformation were propagated concerning Johnson Sakaja. For example, a screenshot of an Infotrak poll that showed Sakaja leading in the senatorial race was widely shared on social media. However, PesaCheck, a fact-checking organization, confirmed that the screenshot was fabricated and did not represent the actual results of the poll.[26]

Another piece of misinformation that was spread about Sakaja concerned his academic credentials. A screenshot purportedly showing that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had written to Team University to verify Sakaja's academic credentials was shared on social media. However, PesaCheck confirmed that the screenshot was altered, and the IEBC had not written to Team University about Sakaja's academic qualifications.[27] Misinformation was also spread through a doctored video claiming to show Deputy President William Ruto disowning Sakaja. PesaCheck confirmed that the video was altered and did not reflect the actual statements made by Ruto.[28]

References

  1. ^ Omulo, Collins (16 June 2022). "Sakaja: What next for Nairobi governor race?". Nation. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Uhuru's TNA nominates Sakaja to Parliament". The Star, Kenya. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  3. ^ "We have come together for unity and development - Uhuru's TNA » Capital News". Capital News. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  4. ^ Wanja,Claire (11 July 2022). "'I do have a degree from Team University' maintains Sakaja". KBC. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  5. ^ "Secrets of Naivasha deal unraveled". Daily Nation. 30 January 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  6. ^ "Honorable Johnson Sakaja". Africa Health Agenda International Conference. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  7. ^ "COMMITTEE ON LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE". The Kenyan Parliament Website. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  8. ^ "KYPA | Young Members of Parliament". www.kypa.or.ke. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Bill to provide youths job access among 4 signed into law » Capital News". Capital News. 1 April 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  10. ^ "Johnson Sakaja quits Nairobi governor race". 28 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Sakaja declares interest in the Nairobi Governor's seat » Capital News". 2 November 2021.
  12. ^ "CUE summons Sakaja, asks for evidence to back degree". 17 June 2022.
  13. ^ "Johnson Sakaja, Edwin Sifuna and Esther Passaris win Nairobi top seats". Nation. 14 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  14. ^ Ng'ang'a, Grace. "Sakaja picks banker as deputy for city governor election". The Standard. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  15. ^ "Sakaja sworn in as the 4th Governor of Nairobi City County. | Nairobi City County". 25 August 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  16. ^ Kamunde, Muraya (25 August 2022). "Ruto to attend Sakaja's swearing-in as Nairobi Governor". KBC. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  17. ^ Tongola, Mate. "President-elect Ruto attends Sakaja's swearing-in as Nairobi Governor". The Standard. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  18. ^ App, Daily Nation. "Sakaja wins Africa change-maker award". Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  19. ^ Kingdom Business Solutions (12 July 2016), 2016 MID Hon Johnson Sakaja Video Break Free, retrieved 7 March 2017 {{citation}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  20. ^ "KYPA | Young Members of Parliament". www.kypa.or.ke. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  21. ^ "Johnson Sakaja's degree: Name not in graduation booklet". 12 June 2022.
  22. ^ "Sakaja's name missing in Ugandan University graduation list". 12 June 2022.
  23. ^ "Sakaja's degree revoked again : K24 TV". www.k24tv.co.ke. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  24. ^ "The Star | Sakaja dragged into Sh7.8bn Kemsa PPE scandal". the-star.co.ke/. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  25. ^ OSORO, JOHN (12 July 2022). "High Court dismisses petition challenging Sakaja's Degree Certificate » Capital News". Capital News. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  26. ^ PesaCheck (29 June 2022). "FAKE: This screenshot with an Infotrak poll showing Johnson Sakaja in the lead is fabricated". Medium. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  27. ^ PesaCheck (22 June 2022). "FAKE: IEBC didn't write to Team University about Johnson Sakaja's academic credentials". Medium. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  28. ^ PesaCheck (27 July 2022). "ALTERED: This video claiming to show Deputy President William Ruto disowning Senator Johnson Sakaja…". Medium. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
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