The Nairobi County government moved to court on Thursday to question the legitimacy of the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (NAMATA) that was created by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Through its lawyers, the county argued that the entity was created against the law in the absence of formal agreement between parties.
"A suitable Agreement Meeting the requirement of 26 (2) of the Intergovernmental Relation Act, 2011, was never published in the Kenya Gazette notice in respect to the Nairobi county at least 14 days before the effective date of the transfer of delegation of the county functions required," stated the county government.
According to governor Mike Sonko, the appointment of Mary Chege, Zacharia Mungai, and Ronald Ndirangu as NAMATA board members was unconstitutional and thus should be declared null and void.
[caption caption="Mike Sonko"]
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"It is in the interest of justice the prayers sought in this petition is granted entirely," Sonko adds.
The governor further stated that the Intergovernmental Relations Act, 2011 requires certain mandatory steps to be undertaken prior to transfer or delegation of powers, functions or competencies, and which has not been done.
President Kenyatta created NAMATA in February under the State Corporations Act to address challenges in the transport sector.
In a statement, State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu said the Authority would cover the counties of Nairobi, Kiambu, Kajiado, Machakos and Murang’a.
Apparently, it was a consequence of various presidential interventions and directives issued since 2013 that are geared towards redefining the country’s capital as well as the wider Metropolitan Area.
“NAMATA is a bold and visionary policy intervention that, for the first time in our nation’s history, provides a comprehensive and dynamic platform for addressing the decades-old challenges in the transport sector that have bedevilled the Metropolitan Area,” Esipisu said.
Contrary to Sonko's claims, State House had stated that the creation of the body was based on the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2013 between the National Government and the county governments of Nairobi, Kiambu, Murang’a, Machakos and Kajiado.
[caption caption="President Uhuru Kenyatta"]
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