Court declares Nairobi County takeover deal unlawful

The High Court has declared the Deed of Transfer of Functions executed between the National Government and Nairobi City County Government as vague and irregular.

Justice Hellen Wasilwa ruled that the deal signed at State House in February this year, was not approved by the County Assembly therefore making it unlawful.

The court further declared the transfer of 6,000 county employees and secondment of CEOs to the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) as irregular and illegal since the Governor of Nairobi, Mike Sonko was not consulted.

She has therefore given the government 90 days to rectify the illegality failure to which any party will be at liberty to move the court for appropriate action.

The case had been filed by activist Okiya Omtata.

Omtatah moved to court seeking to reverse the transfers until such a time when proper mechanisms and procedures are put in place for the safety of the workers.

In an affidavit filed in court, Governor Sonko argued that he has never authorised any action for secondment of his staff to the Nairobi Metropolitan Service because the same would be illegal and unconstitutional.

“That the respondents actions are irrational, unreasonable and unconstitutional, ” reads the affidavit in part.

The Deed of Transfer saw the Nairobi County Government handover control of county health, transport, planning and development as well as public works and utilities to the National Government.

To operationalize implementation of the Deed of Transfer of Functions, President Uhuru Kenyatta created the Office of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) led by Maj. General Mohamed Abdalla Badi as the Director General.

The President tasked the NMS team to immediately begin working on streamlining urban renewal projects that were previously awarded before 2018 and had continually been delayed.