This archive report was first published on 20 December 2019.
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko's delay in appointing a deputy governor has sparked a leadership crisis in the county, with County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi urging ward reps to wait for an advisory opinion from the Attorney General.
According to a certificate of urgency filed by Lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui, Sonko has criticized the possibility of having County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi assume functions of the Governor's office, citing a lack of leadership vacuum in the county.
However, the Constitution is silent on steps to take when a Deputy Governor resigns, and Sonko has been playing a cat and mouse game, failing to nominate a deputy as advised by the Supreme Court on March 8, 2018.
Law experts have pointed out that the Supreme Court only issued an advisory opinion, not an order, and the Deputy Governor position cannot be filled through an election, but rather through nomination by the governor.
On July 24, High Court judge Mumbi Ngugi ruled that elected executives cannot continue to attend to office functions when facing corruption-related charges, a decision upheld by Judge Jamila Mohammed today.
The ruling has cast a limelight on Nairobi county leadership, as well as Kiambu, where Governor Ferdinand Waititu is facing economic crimes charges and has sought refuge at the Court of Appeal.
Waititu's appeal at the High Court was dismissed in August, with the court declining to review his bail terms in the Sh588 million corruption case against him.
