NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 12 – Kenyans were treated to a spectacle Monday night during the second tier of the Nairobi gubernatorial debate that featured Kenya Kwanza Alliance candidate Johnson Sakaja and Azimio La Umoja – One Kenya candidate Polycarp Igathe.
The two candidates who are considered frontrunners in the City Hall race staged a remarkable debate that got Kenyans glued to their television sets for one hour and 30 minutes.
Igathe, the corporate mogul was the first to arrive during the debate which was held at the Catholic University of East Africa.
Sakaja who kept many guessing until the last minute if he would honor the invitation showed up 17 minutes late setting the stage for the duel.
“Traffic mbaya tutasort,” Igathe made light of the moment when Sakaja walked into the stage.
Sakaja however, responded back and said that “my opponent is used to head starts and so I wanted to give him an opportunity and we are here”.
Things unfolded quickly almost after Igathe accused Sakaja of lacking integrity while citing his degree and directly asked Sakaja to confirm if his name is indeed what he claims to be.
The exchange degenerated when the host and KTN News Anchor and Editor Zubeida Koome asked Sakaja to confirm his name.
“Jina lako ni Sakaja. Sakaja ni jina lako halisi?’ Zubeida asked.
An agitated Sakaja who appeared to be infuriated by the question responded back asking Zubeida “nafikiri mlialika Sakaja. Jina lako ni Zubeida?”
Sakaja defended his response noting that “ukiuliza swali ambayo haitoshi mboga nitakujibu na swali”.
During the debate, Sakaja stressed that Igathe was unfit to hold office and cannot be trusted after having absconded duty as Deputy Governor six months after their win with former Governor Mike Sonko in 2017.
“Igathe you ran away from people’s mandate and Nairobi needs resilience. The fact is that you ran away from office and Nairobi residents can’t trust you with managing the affairs of the city,” stated Sakaja.
The Nairobi Senator pointed out that the ripple effect of Igathe’s resignation led to relinquishing of control of the city to National Metropolitan Service which was a drawback to devolution.
Sakaja noted that if Igathe didn’t ‘run away from office’ Nairobi wouldn’t have been dysfunctional after the impeachment of former Governor Mike Sonko.
Sakaja also criticized Igathe for praising NMS, saying the entity was in charge of the city’s affairs as a result of his inability to remain in office.
“You can’t praise the consequence of absconding duty. I want to assure you that we will take full of control of Nairobi once I take office,” Sakaja stated.
Igathe however defended his move to resign, saying that he was not allocated duties and therefore he couldn’t accept to continue earning a salary from tax payers’ money.
He also noted that NMS was a creature of the law, and that its term is almost lapsing.
When asked if he would support NMS to continue operating if elected as Nairobi Governor, Igathe said that he will offer better services that would make the entity’s continued existence unnecessary.
“NMS answered the call of duty and they have done well, but I am confident that I will do better than them,” he stated.
