Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja Johnson on Tuesday, March 31 presented himself before the Senate of Kenya leadership and members of a key watchdog committee, in a move that effectively ended hours of uncertainty following a police search for him yesterday over failure to appear before the panel.

The county boss said his decision to personally drive to Parliament was meant to demonstrate his willingness to engage with Senate committees, even as he called for an amicable resolution of the ongoing standoff between the Council of Governors (CoG) and the Senate.

“I came to the Senate to meet the leadership and members of the committee. First, I am a law-abiding citizen,” Sakaja said. “I have appeared before these committees many times six times this year alone and about ten times last year. I have even responded to audit queries dating back to 2015, including those from my predecessors.”

Sakaja, however, maintained that his earlier failure to appear before the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) was in line with a directive from the Council of Governors, which raised concerns over alleged intimidation and extortion involving some members of the committee.

“When the CoG raised issues regarding that specific committee, we were guided that those concerns be resolved first. Accountability is important, but it must be undertaken in the right way,” he said.

The Governor noted that the dispute is not unique to Nairobi, revealing that 29 governors had been summoned before the same committee, with most failing to appear, while those who attended declined to prosecute substantive matters in solidarity with the CoG position.

Sakaja said he had engaged both Senate and CoG leadership in efforts to de-escalate the situation and find a lasting solution.

“I have spoken to the Speaker of the Senate, the Chair of the Council of Governors, and my fellow governors. We need to resolve these issues so that we can be held accountable as required by the Senate,” he said.

He criticized attempts to single him out, terming the developments surrounding his case as exaggerated.

“It is wrong to single out one county or one governor. The drama we are seeing is not fair. The CoG is an institution just like the Senate let the two institutions resolve the matter collectively,” Sakaja added.

The Governor reiterated his commitment to accountability, stating that he remains ready to appear before the committee once the underlying issues between the two institutions are addressed.

“I have appeared before the committee before and I will continue to do so. All we want is for the issues between the CoG and the Senate to be resolved,” he said.

He also dismissed suggestions that he was evading accountability, noting that he had been available and had nothing to hide.

“Who is in the office at 7pm? They were looking for me, yet I am here at the Senate as required. I have no problem with the Senate. There is just an issue that needs to be resolved. I have nothing to run away from,” he said.

The developments come after police officers reportedly camped at City Hall in a bid to arrest the Governor for failing to appear before the CPAC, chaired by Moses Kajwang’.

The standoff now underscores growing tensions between county governments and the Senate over oversight processes, with both sides under pressure to resolve the dispute through dialogue.