• Former Deputy Governor Polycarp Igathe quit in January last year, citing failure to win the trust of his boss
• Senator Sakaja says county violating the Constitution
Image: The Star
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko is today expected before the Senate to explain why he has yet to appoint a deputy governor 15 months after Polycarp Igathe resigned.
Igathe quit in January last year, citing failure to win the trust of his boss. There have been sporadic calls to have Sonko replace him.
Nairobi Senator Johnstone Sakaja sought a statement from the Senate Standing Committee on Devolution, Intergovernmental and Intercounty Relations on the composition of the county government.
Sakaja said the county administration is not properly constituted. He wants Sonko to explain why he is operating an incomplete government in violation of Article 179 (1) and (2) of the Constitution.
The Senator also want Sonko to explain why the County had been operating without required number of County Executive Committee members.
Governor Sonko made a mini-reshuffle in his administration last month, a move viewed as a way of fixing the gaps in his Cabinet and streamlining service delivery.
For more than six months, the county government has been operating with only five substantive executives against the required 10. This followed the resignation of some executives. Others had their terms expire.
The county also lacks a substantive county attorney, with David Oseko still holding the position in an acting capacity. Former attorney Lydia Kwamboka was fired last year. Another position without a substantive officeholder is that of county secretary.
Hence, Sakaja wants the county chief to explain why he has failed to adhere to the ruling of the Supreme Court, which advised that a governor nominates another person within 14 days to replace a deputy who resigns, dies in office, or is impeached.
On January 11, Sonko promised to name a new deputy governor. This was, however, never to be. He changed his mind at the last minute, citing NASA’s late push to have their nominee considered for the position.
“This is to notify you that I was ready with the name but have received a request from the NASA coalition that, in the spirit of the Handshake and subsequent cooperation with the ruling coalition, I consider their nominee Rahab Wangui for the position of deputy governor,” Sonko told journalists in Mombasa.