Police officers on Monday evening surrounded City Hall in Nairobi as they moved to arrest Johnson Sakaja over allegations of contempt of Parliament.
The officers camped outside the governor’s office after the Senate County Public Accounts Committee ordered his arrest for repeatedly failing to appear before the committee.
The committee had directed Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja to ensure Sakaja was produced before senators by Monday, March 30.
The Senate accused the Nairobi governor of ignoring several summons to answer audit queries concerning the county government.
Kenyans and Police commanders confirmed that officers had been deployed around City Hall after receiving information that Sakaja could be in the building.
Nairobi Regional Police Commander Issa Mohamud said officers had searched for the governor throughout the day without success before moving to City Hall in the evening.
According to Mohamud, Sakaja had been informed through his chief of staff that the most appropriate course of action was to voluntarily appear before the Senate committee.
By Monday evening, the governor had not done so, prompting police to begin the operation to take him before Parliament.
The standoff follows a March 25 decision by the Senate County Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Moses Kajwang, which declared Sakaja to be in contempt of Parliament.
The committee also fined him KSh500,000 and warned that failure to appear could lead to a recommendation that he is unfit to hold public office.
Police were still stationed outside City Hall waiting for the governor, while his whereabouts remained unclear.
The dramatic scene has heightened political tension in Nairobi and could mark one of the most serious confrontations between a sitting governor and Parliament in recent years.
