This archive report was first published on 20 July 2020.
On July 20, 2020, Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja made headlines when he resigned as chairman of the Senate Adhoc Committee on Covid-19, just hours after recording a statement at the Kilimani Police Station.
The move came after Sakaja was found to have broken Covid-19 regulations by being outside his home past 9 pm. In a statement, he apologized to Kenyans for his actions and announced his decision to step down from the committee.
According to Sakaja, he took the bold step to resign in order to set an example by taking responsibility for his actions. "I take responsibility for having flouted the Covid-19 rules. I was outside my home past 9 pm. It is regrettable but all of us make mistakes," he said.
However, not everyone was pleased with Sakaja's decision. Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala took to Twitter to announce that he would not accept Sakaja's resignation, calling it "irrelevant" in the face of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Malala later deleted the tweet, but the debate surrounding Sakaja's resignation continues to spark heated discussions among Kenyan politicians.
