This archive report was first published on 11 June 2021.
On June 11, 2021, reports emerged suggesting the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) had been declared unconstitutional by the High Court in Nairobi. However, Solicitor-General Kennedy Ogeto has dismissed these claims, stating they are untrue and unfounded.
According to Ogeto, the legality of the NMS was challenged in the case of Okiya Omtatah Okoiti vs Nairobi Metropolitan Services and 3 others; Mohamed Abdala Badi and 9 others [2020]. The case was determined and final judgment rendered by the court on September 17, 2020.
The court found that NMS was properly and lawfully established vide the Executive Order No. 3 of 2020, and that the County Assembly was involved in the process leading to the establishment of NMS, in accordance with the law. In Paragraph 84 of the judgment, the court stated that 'the declaration of illegality of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services as created is now lifted.'
On June 18, 2020, the High Court declared the Deed of Transfer of Functions executed between the National Government and Nairobi City County Government as 'vague and irregular.' The February 2020 deed birthed the NMS. Justice Hellen Wasilwa ruled the transfer of functions had not been approved by the County Assembly, therefore making the hand-over illegal.
However, the National Government moved quickly to regularise the transfer by involving the County Assembly as was directed by Justice Wasilwa. The matter was taken back to court, and on September 17, 2020, the court lifted the previous decision, which had declared the transfer of functions illegal.
