This archive report was first published on 22 October 2021.
On October 22, 2021, the Court of Appeal made a crucial decision that cleared the way for Nairobi's deputy governor, Anne Kananu, to become the city's first female governor.
The appellate judges, Wanjiru Karanja, Jamila Mohamed, and Jessie Lessit, dismissed an application by former governor Mike Sonko that had stopped Kananu from being sworn in as the substantive governor of Nairobi.
According to the judges, Sonko's appeal against his impeachment had no nexus with Kananu's swearing-in, and therefore, his application to stop the swearing-in had no merit.
Although Kananu's swearing-in would effectively end Sonko's chances of getting back his office, the judges ruled that the issue of her taking over as substantive governor was not one of the disputes before the High Court to warrant their intervention.
Former governor Mike Sonko had nominated Kananu as his deputy in January 2020, and forwarded her name to the County Assembly for vetting. However, a Nairobi resident challenged the nomination in court, which kept Kananu waiting until December last year.
With the Court of Appeal's decision, Kananu is now poised to become the first female governor of Nairobi, a historic milestone in the city's governance.
