• According to lawyer Danstan Omari the way forward for Kananu is not based on legal but political affairs.
•“What we have seen since Sonko was impeached was a lot of cases in court but they are there not by coincidence,” he said.
Image: FILE
The ongoing politics surrounding Nairobi has put in focus differences between legislators and lawyers which now appears to be a case of law versus politics.
Since Mike Sonko was impeached as Nairobi's Governor, lawyers and politicians have had different approached and arguments in interpreting the constitution.
Law Society of Kenya on Monday successfully managed to obtain court orders barring Deputy Governor Anne Kananu from being sworn in as Governor.
According to the Assumption in Office Committee chaired by Acting County Secretary Jairus Musumba, the plan was to swear in Kananu after completing the plans that were interfered with by the court orders.
According to lawyer Danstan Omari the way forward for Kananu is not based on legal but political affairs.
“What we have seen since Sonko was impeached was a lot of cases in court but they are there not by coincidence,” he said yesterday.
Omari claimed the people behind Kananu have proper legal advisors who know how the court operates, creating very minimal chances of them losing the battles.
“The moment Kananu will be sworn in as Governor, she will go ahead and nominate a Deputy Governor who will then proceed to be vetted and sworn in. The complete Governorship will have been in place legally,” he argued.
In an interview at Citizen TV on Tuesday, LSK chairperson Nelson Havi claimed the political forces behind the current Nairobi politics were attempting a coup in the constitution.
He argued that the people of Nairobi are slowly falling into anarchy if they do not see the danger the county is falling into.
“The President and the former Prime Minister are angling to second somebody to deputise Anne Kananu as and when she is unlawfully installed as governor this is an attempted coup in the constitution,” Havi said.
Wading into the issue, ODM Party Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna disagreed with Havi noting that Kananu was appointed by an elected governor.
Former Governor Mike Sonko nominated Kananu as his deputy on January 6, 2020, sending her name to be vetted by the county assembly.
“The problem, I have with Sonko is that he never took his work seriously. All the time he was sending these letters to the assembly he was doing it as a joke not thinking of the consequences they had,” Sifuna added.
The SG also argued that it was the same courts that blocked Kananu from being vetted last year, leading to the County Assembly speaker to act as governor when Sonko was impeached on December 17, 2020.
February last year, the court blocked the assembly from vetting Kananu but 10 months later the petitioner was allowed to withdraw the case, paving way for the county assembly to vet her.
“The Speaker had to act as Governor since at that time there was a vacuum in both offices. Since Kananu was vetted and sworn in as the DG, the law clearly says with a vacuum in the Governor’s office the Deputy Governor become the designate Governor,” Sifuna added.
The chairman revealed that some of LSK members have recommended action should be taken against the judicial officers who were involved in the "illegal act of swearing in Kananu as the Deputy Governor".
He also urged President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM Party leader Raila Odinga to let Nairobi elect their Governor in the manner provided in the constitution.
“A Speaker acting as a governor cannot purport to appoint a Deputy Governor as a Governor. As a judge, you have to verify there is a signature sealed by the Governor after the county assembly has completed the vetting process for you to sign and say you have sworn in the individual as the Deputy Governor. There is a flaw in this and it was never followed last week,” Havi explained.
On the other hand, the LSK Chairman called upon the IEBC to continue the preparations towards a by-election as Nairobi residents have a right to vote for their own Governor.
“We should not be diverted from the path of democracy we took when we promulgated this constitution on August 27, 2010. There cannot be alternatives to the law and If we continue we shall fall into anarchy,” Havi argued.
Layer Omari claimed that customs and traditions of governance have become a big hindrance to President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga which will hinder by-elections from happening in Nairobi.
He argued that the law is only applicable as an academic course in University but not to Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime.
“These are interesting times under President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga where the law is a burden to them and an inconvenience. Under this time anything is possible,” he said.
Omari explains that all the efforts being made for Kananu to become Governor are from the fear the two have in facing Deputy President William Ruto in a by-election.
“Uhuru and Raila know that if the Judiciary turns against them, they will face the wheelbarrow champion William Ruto who will beat them in Nairobi. They cannot take that chance,” he said.
Expressing his disagreement with the two, ODM SG Sifuna said IEBC itself cleared Kananu to be vetted last year .
“Nobody is afraid of a by-election in Nairobi, it is a fallacy that has been thrown around in certain circles,” he added.