• He accused his opponents and the deep state for the woes he was facing adding that he appeared as a threat to them.
•Justice Mrima has set Friday, July 8 as the judgment date.
Image: EZEKIEL AMINGA
Nairobi gubernatorial candidate Johnson Sakaja has revealed he was offered Sh 1 billion to drop from the gubernatorial race.
The city senator said a 'deep state' delegation was sent to persuade him to drop out of the race for governor.
“Someone was sent from State House to tell me to drop from the race and I was offered Sh 1 billion but rejected the offer,” Sakaja added.
Speaking on Thursday on Radio Jambo, the gubernatorial hopeful said he had plans of becoming a Governor at 37 years old and he would not exchange that dream for money.
Last month, Sakaja disclosed that he had been approached by 'deep state' who asked him to drop his bid in exchange for a Cabinet post but he refused.
On his soared relationship with President Uhuru Kenyatta, Sakaja they differed ideologically and grew apart when he came to know they had different plans for Nairobi.
He claimed that Uhuru’s plans for the city contradicted his and that is where their differences started.
“I have worked very well and closely with the President whom I respect so much since the TNA days. As the days went by I saw he had different plans for Nairobi and that is where we started to differ," Sakaja said.
Previously, the Senator fondly referred to the President as his political father until the degree saga came up.
Sakaja, who blames the matter on Uhuru, insisted the whole issue had been grossly politicised.
He accused his opponents and the 'deep state' for his woes saying he appeared as a threat to them.
“This is all politics. I have gone to school and I have my certificate. My opponents have seen that I have the potential and I have the people’s votes,” Sakaja said.
"They already contacted the Team University and they were told my degree is legit and that is what I presented before IEBC,” he said.
The governor hopeful's political career is on the line.
A voter dragged him to court seeking to block the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from printing Nairobi gubernatorial ballot papers until the case is heard and determined.
On Monday, Sakaja urged the High Court to strike out a petition seeking to have him disqualified from the race.
His lawyers, led by Elias Mutuma, tore into claims by petitioner Dennis Gakuru Wahome that Sakaja does not possess a university degree as required by law.
Wahome had asked High Court Judge Antony Mrima to stop the IEBC from printing ballot papers for the Nairobi governor's race until his petition is determined. The judge declined this application.
Wahome's lawyers led by Paul Nyamodi informed the court the degree certificate that Sakaja purportedly holds has been revoked by the Commission on University Education (CUE).
Sakaja's lawyers said the revocation of the degree certificate was not material before the IEBC dispute resolution committee dismissed Wahome's petition.
In his affidavit, Wahome had said the IEBC dispute resolution committee had dismissed his evidence that the Team University degree had been revoked by CUE.
Nyamodi said Sakaja was aware of the commission's decision to revoke his degree certificate and that the dispute resolution committee acted unfairly in disregarding the evidence.
Justice Mrima has set Friday, July 8 as the judgment date.