Nairobi County Governor Johnson Sakaja is facing his first major test just hours after ditching the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) for the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), with a lawyer announcing plans to challenge his defection in court.
Sakaja formally joined ODM in a colourful ceremony attended by the party’s top leadership. Speaking at the event, the governor insisted that the late Raila Odinga had advised him to leave the ruling party if he wished to politically survive in Nairobi. The move was celebrated by ODM supporters as a major catch in the capital, but it has now drawn legal attention.
In a post on her Facebook page, the lawyer said she will move to court tomorrow to challenge Sakaja’s defection from UDA, the party on whose ticket he was elected, to ODM. She stated that her petition will seek constitutional interpretation and a judicial determination of the legal implications of the political defection.
According to the lawyer, the case will rely on Section 14 and Section 14A of the Political Parties Act, 2011, as amended in 2022. These provisions deal with membership of political parties and the consequences faced by elected leaders who defect from the parties that sponsored them. Under the law, a member who joins another party is deemed to have resigned from the original party, a position that has often triggered legal wrangles over the fate of elected seats.
The lawyer further said she will seek clarity on whether the circumstances surrounding the defection raise constitutional grounds for a by-election under Article 181 of the Constitution. Article 181 provides for the removal of a county governor from office, and the petitioner wants the court to establish whether it applies in this case.
If the court admits the petition, it could open a protracted legal battle that may keep the Nairobi governor’s political future in the spotlight. Courts in Kenya have in the past handled defection disputes involving elected leaders, with outcomes often depending on the specific facts and the interpretation of the law.
Sakaja has not yet publicly responded to the planned legal action. His allies in ODM are expected to defend the move as a legitimate political choice, arguing that leaders have the freedom of association guaranteed under the Constitution.
For now, the capital’s political temperature is rising. Whether the petition succeeds or is dismissed, it ensures that Sakaja’s dramatic switch will be debated not only in political rallies but also in the courtroom, as Nairobi residents wait to see how the matter unfolds.
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