The Senate has issued a proposal seeking to have Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko summoned to appear before a select committee after allegedly breaking several laws pertaining to devolution.
Sonko stood accused of running the Nairobi County Government against the stipulated laws governed by the Constitution of Kenya.
"Sonko had contravened Article179 (1) (2) of the constitution and therefore should be summoned to shed more light on why the county government has operated with a county governor for 15 months.," stated Nairobi Senator Johnstone Sakaja.
The Article highlighted by Mr Sakaja in part stipulates that the power of the county is vested in, and exercised by, a County Executive Committee comprising of a governor and his deputy.
Sonko's decision not to appoint his deputy for over 15 months since the resignation of Mr Polycarp Igathe formed a major part of the heated discussions.
“It was inconceivable that Nairobi City County has a vacuum in the office of the deputy governor until the next elections are held,” Senator Sakaja asserted.
The Nairobi Governor also stood accused of running his county with just five members in his County Executive Committee (CEC), as opposed to the 10 that are required.
In addition, the fact that his county has no substantive speaker after last year’s impeachment of Ms Beatrice Elachi complicates matters even further as the speaker's office is third in the line of succession.
"If a vacancy occurs in the office of county governor and that of deputy county governor, or if the deputy county governor is unable to act, the speaker of the county assembly shall act as county governor," states Article 182 (4).
The Senate was unified in their view that Governor Sonko was actively undermining devolution by running the government against stipulated laws.
They went on to propose that Sonko should appear before the Senate Devolution and Inter-Governmental Committee to explain why he had ignored the Supreme Court ruling that provided governors to nominate candidates within 14 days.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei called on the Jubilee Party to step in and ensure that the capital gets a deputy governor.
