President Uhuru Kenyatta stirs controversy on counties’ headquarters

When President Uhuru Kenyatta signed into law the County Governments (Amendment) Bill 2014, he opened a can of worms.

Although the law passed by Senate was meant to end disputes over where county headquarters should be located, it could now open legal battles.

The Bill, which President Kenyatta signed into law on April 1, came only three weeks after a Nyeri court ruled that the Laikipia County headquarters be located in Nanyuki town. But the law designates Rumuruti as the county headquarters.

The Council of Governors Chairman Peter Munya has advised affected counties to draft laws that will supersede the national legislation. “The Constitution clearly stipulates that local legislation will supersede national legislation when the matter at hand affects a particular area and this is the way out of this problem,” said Mr Munya.

But in Kirinyaga, the matter could be headed to the courts after the gazettement of Kerugoya as the county headquarters as opposed to Kutus, where construction of a multi-million shilling headquarters complex is nearly complete.

A charged meeting chaired by Governor Joseph Ndathi in Kutus on Thursday resolved to seek legal redress over the matter as the county assembly lobbies to overturn the decision.

Mr Ndathi accused six local MPs of conspiring to defeat the wishes of majority of residents who voted Kutus town as the county headquarters long before the 2013 General Election. “I personally did not decide Kutus as the headquarters, and only effected what had been decided by residents that Kutus would be the new county headquarters,” he said.

He said they have spent Sh385 million to construct the county office complex. Senator Daniel Karaba and all local MPs did not attend the meeting. Kirinyaga Central MP Gitari Gachoki agreed with the proposals, arguing that moving to Kutus is a waste of taxpayers money.

Already, the Kirinyanga county government has settled on rented premises in Kutus town. Kirinyaga County Finance Executive Secretary Murimi Murage said about Sh400 million was set aside for the construction of the county headquarters now midway through. “It is a five- storey housing structure which is almost complete,” he said.

Earlier there was consensus that Kutus be the county headquarters following a meeting of 10 elders from each of the four constituencies; Kirinyaga Central, Ndia, Mwea and Gichugu in 2012. The elders who met at Kutus Primary School are Njagi wa Muthinji, Jeremiah Gateri, the late Archbishop David Gitari, former Mwea MP Allan Njeru and area professionals .

“We decided on Kutus because it is the most central place. One uses one PSV from Sagana to Kutus, and similarly from every corner of the county,” said Mr Muthinji.

In Laikipia, Justice Jairus Ngaah had dismissed the decision by the County Assembly to move the county headquarters to Rumuruti, arguing it did not involve public participation. The Judge said the county government had invested a lot of funds in renovation of facilities in Nanyuki town, including the county assembly which also serves as the county headquarters.

Governor Joshua Irungu told The Standard on Sunday that they had budgeted about Sh300 million for construction of county headquarters at Rumuruti, which would to be implemented in phases. Mr Irungu said Nanyuki had no room for expansion unlike Rumuruti.