Sakaja denies hiring goons during anti-government protests
By Hilary KimuyuNairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has denied claims that he hired goons to infiltrate the peaceful demonstrators during Tuesday’s anti-government protests.
Sakaja’s denial came after a video clip went viral showing suspected goons leaving City Hall during the protests of Tuesday, July 2, 2024.
Addressing the media on Thursday, Sakaja dismissed the claims, insisting that he was in Diani for his executive cabinet retreat.
“I saw a clip on Tuesday of alleged goons coming from City Hall. Some are claiming that I, the governor, was meeting these goons to plan violence. However, I was in Diani with my Cabinet doing our end-of-year retreat and I could not have planned such activities,” Sakaja said.
Suspected culprit
Mr Sakaja also claimed that one of the people seen burning City Hall works in the office of a Member of Parliament.
He demanded that the said MP and his aide be exposed so that the rule of law can take its course.
“Let the politician and MP who sent them be known,” he said.
Sakaja insisted that he is a firm believer in clean politics and that he would never, at any time, advocate violence on the basis of different political persuations.
He further condemned the incident, stressing that security agencies would work to uncover the motive behind the said meeting at City Hall.
Criminal activities
He also noted that the anti-government protests greatly affected revenue collection in Nairobi.
“The destroyed business and interruption of service denied the county the opportunity to hit the Sh13 billion record,” he said.
Last week’s and Tuesday’s protests, which took place across several counties, led to widespread destruction of property, and looting, leaving business owners grappling with significant losses.
Unlike the first week of the protests, the most recent ones have been characterised by widespread criminal activities in Nairobi.
Cases of arson, assault, muggings and robberies have been reported during the protests.
On Thursday, the planned demos failed to kick off in Nairobi County which remained largely calm, despite a heavy police presence.