Nairobi is in a constitutional crisis. Governor Mike Sonko refused to appoint another deputy governor after Polycarp Igathe quit in January 2018. Now there is no functional governor and no deputy.
Sonko cannot work as governor following the ruling in July by Justice Mumbi Ngugi that governors charged with corruption must stay away from office and hand over to their deputies.
Sonko has refused to appoint a deputy for unclear reasons. Perhaps he just wanted to monopolise power. In June he met the Senate oversight committee and said he would only appoint a deputy when a law was passed to provide the criteria for new deputy governors.
Sonko was just stonewalling. There needs to be a law to force governors to appoint a deputy in case there is a vacancy.
A County Government Amendment Bill is still pending in Parliament. Among other provisions, it compels governors to nominate deputies.
Parliament is now on a long recess until February but Speaker Justin Muturi should seek a way to pass the Bill before then to force Sonko to appoint a deputy governor to act in his place.
Quote of the day: “Our children may learn about the heroes of the past. Our task is to make ourselves the architects of the future.”
Jomo Kenyatta
He became the first President of Kenya on December 12, 1964
