NAIROBI, Kenya — Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has accused influential figures within President William Ruto’s administration of attempting to benefit from and exert control over key county functions, amid mounting political debate over governance in the capital.
Speaking during an interview on NTV Kenya, Sakaja dismissed claims that Nairobi County had transferred critical functions to the national government.
He cited Article 187 of the Constitution, which governs the transfer of functions between levels of government.
“No, we have not ceded any function; transfer of function is provided under the law, Article 187 of the Constitution,” Sakaja said.
“The only transfer that has occurred during my tenure has been from the national government to the county government.”
The governor alleged that unnamed powerful figures were targeting garbage collection and disposal, water collection and supply, and road construction — functions constitutionally assigned to counties under the Fourth Schedule.
Under Article 187(1), a function may only be transferred by agreement between governments if it can be performed more effectively by the receiving entity and if the law does not prohibit such transfer.
Sub-article (2) further requires that adequate resources accompany any transfer, while constitutional responsibility remains with the level of government assigned the function in the Fourth Schedule.
Sakaja insisted that no lawful transfer had taken place.
“Until the governor has signed a deed of transfer and the national government has signed it, there is no transfer under the law,” he said.
He framed ongoing discussions with President Ruto as consultations anchored in Section 6 of the Urban Areas and Cities Act, which provides for special arrangements between the national and county governments in managing the capital city.
The law requires a structured framework to guide collaboration, particularly in cities of national significance.
Support from the national government, Sakaja argued, is meant to enhance service delivery, not surrender authority.
“Nairobi, being the capital city, requires support for development and growth. That does not mean relinquishing control,” he said.
The governor also accused political actors of amplifying what he described as a “takeover narrative” for electoral gain. He claimed to have defended Nairobi’s fiscal interests “10 times in the Senate,” particularly during debates over revenue allocation.
“The distribution of revenue fight was due to Nairobi being given a small amount of Sh100 million from the capital, and that things needed to be sorted out at a higher level,” Sakaja said.
Nairobi accounts for more than 10pc of Kenya’s voter population and remains a strategic political battleground.
Sakaja suggested that competing interests in the capital were fueling speculation about a transfer of powers.
