This archive report was first published on 22 October 2021.
On October 22, 2021, the Court of Appeal made a significant ruling that cleared the way for acting Nairobi Governor Ann Kananu to be sworn in as the substantive county boss.
The ruling dealt a blow to former Governor Mike Sonko, who had been out of office for more than 10 months and was effectively no longer the governor of Nairobi.
The court ruled that Sonko's application seeking to bar Kananu from being sworn in as the Nairobi Governor did not meet the threshold to be granted the order.
According to the court, Sonko's troubles started on November 26, 2020, when a notice for his removal was lodged at the Nairobi County Assembly by Michael Ogada.
On December 3, 2020, MCAs convened to impeach Sonko and a resolution for his removal was passed. This proceeded to the Senate and a resolution was passed on December 17, 2020, to remove him from office.
He then filed a petition challenging the impeachment as the Speaker of the Assembly, Mr Benson Mutura, was sworn in as the acting governor. Mutura later stepped down after Kananu was vetted and sworn in as Deputy Governor.
Sonko's petition was subsequently dismissed by a bench of three judges of the High Court in June 2021. The court found that the impeachment process fully complied with constitutional and statutory requirements, prompting Sonko to move to the Court of Appeal.
Justices Wanjiru Karanja, Jamila Mohammed, and Jessie Lesiit ruled that the issue of swearing-in Kananu was not among the grounds raised by Sonko in his appeal.
