This archive report was first published on 18 June 2020.
Court Rules Uhuru's Takeover of Nairobi County as Illegal ¶
On June 18, 2020, the High Court of Kenya declared the transfer of Nairobi county functions to the national government as illegal, a move that was initiated by President Uhuru Kenyatta on February 25, 2020.
According to the court ruling, the transfer of functions was illegal because the Nairobi county Assembly did not approve it. The court also declared that the transfer of 6,000 county workers to the Nairobi Metropolitan Service was irregular.
Justice Hellen Wasilwa ruled that the Nairobi county had not been dissolved and was still independent, with Governor Mike Sonko remaining in control. The court gave the national government a 90-day ultimatum to regularize the illegality, failure to which the transfer of functions would be revoked.
Activist Okiya Omtatah had filed a petition against the transfer of functions, arguing that the process was flawed and did not involve the public, county Assembly, County Executive Committee members, and the Senate.
Governor Sonko had transferred various functions of the county to President Uhuru Kenyatta, including health, transport, public works utilities, and ancillary services, as well as the county government planning and development dockets.
Following the court ruling, Governor Sonko apologized to Nairobians for letting them down in the transfer of county functions, stating that he was rushed into signing the agreement and was not allowed time to read the document fully.
