Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja on Monday, July 11, arrived late at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa for the Nairobi County Gubernatorial Debate.



Sakaja was accompanied by his running mate and former Absa Chief Operating Officer James Muchiri.

His appearance came as a surprise given that he had not shown up as the Nairobi County gubernatorial debate kicked off at 8 pm.
Organisers of the event stated that the session would kick-off as scheduled but allowed his spot to remain open - if he decided to honour the invite.

"The starting time was clear to all candidates and the event must proceed as scheduled. His slot will remain open for Johnson Sakaja," moderator Mark Masai stated.

15 minutes into the debate, Sakaja's motorcade pulled up at CUEA.

When questioned by the moderators on why he arrived late to the debate, Sakaja joked that he had wanted to give his competitor a head-start.

"Well, my opponent is used to head starts, so I wanted to give him an opportunity, but there is no need to delve deeper into that, whether it is from government, but I look forward to a good debate," he stated.

The moderators went straight to the point and asked Sakaja whether he had met the qualifications to run for a governor - having a degree from a recognised university. The UDA candidate responded by stating that he had a degree from Team University.

In his absence, Igathe had thrown a jibe at Sakaja in his opening statement, stating that the people of Nairobi were tired of leaders who took everything for granted.

"People are tired of the circus of usual politics of insults, of drama, of coming late for interviews, of eligibility of a job, They want a leader who just gets the job done," Igathe stated.