NAIROBI, Kenya — Former Nairobi County chief officer Geoffrey Mosiria has accused Governor Johnson Sakaja of stripping him of his responsibilities, slashing his departmental budget and frustrating his work long before his dismissal, escalating a public fallout that now intersects with the 2027 Nairobi gubernatorial race.
Mosiria broke his silence on Wednesday, October 21, hours after Nairobi County announced changes that removed him from the Public Participation, Citizen Engagement and Customer Service docket, responding with a pointed message thanking Sakaja for making his “sacking official.”
In a lengthy statement, the former chief officer traced the breakdown in their working relationship to December 28, 2023, when he alleged that the governor took away his responsibilities as an accounting officer and transferred them to junior officers.
His account goes beyond the latest administrative reshuffle, presenting his departure as the culmination of years of disagreements over authority, budgets, procurement, departmental responsibilities and access to the governor.
The allegations have not been independently established, and the county government’s response to Mosiria’s claims was not included in the statements reviewed.
“Thank you, my boss, for making my sacking official,” Mosiria wrote, in a message whose sarcastic tone signalled the depth of his grievances.
Mosiria traces fallout with Sakaja to December 2023
Mosiria claimed the relationship deteriorated when he was serving in the county’s health administration.
He alleged that Sakaja removed his constitutionally assigned responsibilities as an accounting officer through a memorandum he described as unprocedural, handing the functions to junior officers.
He further claimed that the health budget under his docket was reduced from KSh1.2 billion to KSh100 million, leaving him without sufficient resources to perform his duties.
Mosiria linked the alleged budget reduction to his refusal to participate in direct procurement arrangements that he claimed would have favoured people associated with the governor and county contractors.
He said the issue came to a head during a WhatsApp conference call attended by the governor’s chief of staff, Osman Khalifa, in which he alleged that Sakaja confronted him.
The claims raise questions about the allocation of departmental responsibilities, budgetary authority and procurement oversight within City Hall.
However, the figures and allegations require documentary verification, and no independent evidence establishing wrongdoing by Sakaja or county contractors was presented in Mosiria’s statement.
Mosiria’s account is therefore an allegation about the internal workings of the county administration, rather than a judicial or audit finding.
Transfers left him feeling sidelined
Mosiria said he was subsequently transferred to the Environment department, where he claimed his director reported directly to Sakaja, leaving him with little meaningful work.
He said he nevertheless continued participating in street operations, including activities he believed should have been handled by junior officers, because he wanted to remain involved in service delivery.
His public profile grew through visible enforcement activities and social media posts documenting interventions involving sanitation, illegal dumping and other urban management issues.
The former chief officer said he endured attacks in official WhatsApp groups, public criticism and a court case that he alleged nearly resulted in a six-month jail term over contempt of court.
He described the legal proceedings as part of what he believed was an effort to push him out of office. That characterisation remains his allegation and should not be interpreted as an established finding about the motives behind the case.
Mosiria said his subsequent transfer to the citizen engagement and customer service docket followed his attempts to question the treatment he had received.
His account suggests that, by the time of Wednesday’s dismissal, the dispute had become about more than his latest job assignment: it concerned his authority, his relationship with the governor and his ability to influence decisions within the county government.
Unanswered grievances and a breakdown in communication
Mosiria also claimed that he had not held a substantive meeting with Sakaja since December 28, 2023, when he said the governor stripped him of his responsibilities during a meeting at a private office in Riverside, Nairobi.
He accused the governor of rarely answering his calls or responding to his messages, leaving his grievances unresolved.
“Since then, my grievances have gone unheard, and I have never had a fair opportunity to discuss them with you as you rarely pick calls or respond to my messages,” he wrote.
The claim, if substantiated, would point to a prolonged breakdown in communication between a governor and a senior official responsible for implementing county functions.
However, Mosiria’s account represents one side of the dispute. The Governor’s explanation for the earlier transfers, the alleged budget changes and the latest decision to remove Mosiria from the docket remains essential to establishing a complete picture.
The county’s October 21 notice announced the reassignment of three chief officers but did not provide a detailed explanation for Mosiria’s removal.
Zipporah Njeri Mwangi was designated acting chief officer for Public Participation, Citizen Engagement and Customer Service while retaining her existing City Culture, Arts and Tourism responsibilities.
The notice also assigned Eng. Samwel Njogu the acting Mobility docket and Godfrey Akumali the acting Lands docket alongside Housing and Urban Renewal. The changes took effect immediately.
From county official to potential challenger
The timing of Mosiria’s removal has added a political dimension to the dispute.
Days before the reshuffle, he publicly declared his interest in contesting the Nairobi Governorship in the 2027 General Election, placing him in a potential electoral contest with Sakaja.
Mosiria has sought to frame his experience in the county administration as preparation for the top job, arguing that his work across health, environment and citizen engagement has exposed him to the challenges facing Nairobi.
In his latest statement, he said residents had encouraged him to seek the governorship and presented his ambition as an effort to improve county systems rather than pursue a personal dispute.
“My desire has never been to fight anyone; it has always been to fix the systems and serve the people of Nairobi,” he wrote.
His dismissal removes him from his previous executive role, but it also gives him an opportunity to campaign outside the county administration while drawing attention to his experience and grievances.
That does not establish that Sakaja removed him because of his political ambitions. The proximity between Mosiria’s declaration and the reshuffle is politically significant, but the county notice does not explicitly link the two events.
The episode nevertheless illustrates the potential tension when a serving county official begins positioning himself as a challenger to the governor who oversees his appointment and administrative responsibilities.
Mosiria raises alarm over possible court case
The former chief officer’s statement ended with a further allegation that he had information suggesting preparations were under way for a court case intended to have him jailed.
“I hope Nairobi people know who belongs to jail and who should serve them,” he wrote.
Mosiria did not publicly substantiate the alleged plan in the statement. No evidence reviewed establishes that a case is being prepared to target him or that any legal action would be politically motivated.
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The claim adds to the increasingly adversarial tone of the dispute and raises the prospect that the fallout could extend beyond the administrative reshuffle into a broader legal and political confrontation.
Any future proceedings, if filed, would need to be assessed on their evidence and legal merits rather than on the competing political claims surrounding the dispute.
A dispute that could shape Nairobi’s 2027 race
Mosiria’s statement has transformed his removal from a county position into a public challenge to the way Sakaja’s administration operates.
By setting out a chronology beginning in 2023, he is seeking to establish that his departure was not an isolated personnel decision but the culmination of a longer struggle over authority and access to decision-making.
His allegations about procurement and budget allocations are particularly serious because they concern the use of public resources. They require documentary scrutiny, including the alleged memorandum, budget records, procurement documentation and the communications Mosiria says support his account.
The governor and county administration have an opportunity to respond to those claims and clarify the reasons for the reassignment.
For Nairobi residents, the central issue is not simply the personal relationship between two political figures. It is whether county departments have the resources and authority required to deliver services, whether public funds are managed transparently and whether administrative decisions are made in the public interest.
With the 2027 election approaching, the dispute could become part of the wider debate over Sakaja’s record and the credibility of potential challengers.
For now, Mosiria has made his grievances public and signalled his political ambitions. Whether his allegations produce documentary evidence, an official response or further legal action will determine how much the dispute develops beyond an increasingly bitter exchange at City Hall.
