The Senate has been criticised for doing little to compel embattled Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko to pick a deputy following Polycarp Igathe's resignation.
Igathe resigned on January 12 last year for "failing to earn the trust of the governor to enable me to drive the administration and management of the county."
Sonko has worked without a deputy since then, but was charged with corruption offences on Monday, leaving City Hall without two of its seniormost officers.
The Senate is accused of failing in its overall function to protect the interests of counties and their governments, especially with the current crisis in Nairobi.
Political analyst and lawyer Oliver Kipchumba said the Senate is partly to blame for the current situation.
“The Senate ought to have made sure Sonko elected a deputy governor, they have that mandate,” he added.
Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot said Sonko should not be allowed to get away with the failure to appoint a deputy governor for almost two years.
“In Bomet county, the governor has appointed a deputy already,” he said.
Bomet Governor Hillary Barchok picked Speaker Shadrack Rotich as his deputy in November, slightly over a month after his August 8 swearing-in.
Barchok assumed office after his boss and predecessor Joyce Laboso died on July 29.
High Court Judge Mumbi Ngugi on July 24, ruled that elected executives must stay away from office when facing corruption-related charges.
Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria said running Nairobi county would be difficult since Sonko is expected to stay away from the office.
“I think we shall be looking at a by-election in Nairobi by April or March next year,” Kuria said.
The Senate has made half-hearted attempts to have Sonko chose a deputy.
In April, Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja took the debate to the House. Sakaja argued that the Nairobi county executive was not properly constituted.
“If the Senate cannot pronounce itself on this matter, I don’t know which other matter the Senate can pronounce itself in and be respected,” he said.
But when he appeared before the Senate in the same month, Sonko cited the yet to be signed Assumption of Office of Governor Bill (2018) as the reason for his long delay in picking a deputy.
President Uhuru Kenyatta signed the Bill into law in May, but Nairobi continued to operate without a deputy governor.
The Act stipulates that should the position fall vacant, it should be filled within 14 days.
Governors have called for an emergency meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta to discuss the fate of Nairobi county.
They want the President to make his pronouncement on the matter.
(edited by O. Owino)
