Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has denied involvement in the anti-government rallies that destroyed part of the City Hall structure.
During a news conference outside Parliament, Sakaja revealed that he had returned to the city after a retreat with his cabinet to reform county operations for the coming fiscal year.
He criticized politicians who sought political mileage by using his name as one of those who supposedly planned violence.
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The governor encouraged lawmakers to follow his "siasa safi" philosophy, which values all ideas regardless of affiliation. I observed a video on Tuesday of accused thugs leaving City Hall and have urged that it be investigated.
"I saw a clip on Tuesday on alleged goons coming out of City Hall which I have asked to be investigated. We have been in the Coast with our cabinet for the whole week just doing our end-of-year retreat and replanning for the new financial year which ends in June. I would hate it that something would have been planned from City Hall," he said.
"When you're in such a situation, the first casualty is the truth. Opportunistic politicians try to bring themselves into a move to taint their opponents. When somebody tries to claim that I was meeting people to plan violence at City Hall while I was in Diani from Sunday and I've come back this morning. I've always believed in siasa safi and freedom of expression even when it's not in my political side of the equation."
During the second week of anti-government rallies, a part of City Hall caught fire. The building now houses Governor Sakaja's office. Eyewitnesses reported that irate youngsters chased away county askaris outside the building, allowing them to enter and set fire to the office.
This occurred immediately after demonstrators entered Parliament buildings on Tuesday, June 25.
