Governor Waititu ignores court order in water firm row

A battle over the dissolution of eight water companies has taken a turn after court instructions were snubbed.

In February, Governor Ferdinand Waititu assented to the Kiambu Water and Sanitation (Amendment) Act 2018, which paved the way for the merger of the companies into one entity called Kiambu County Water and Sewerage Company Ltd.

But last month, former Transition Authority chairman Kinuthia Wamwangi, Thika District Business Association and Jamhuri Ofafa Starehe Welfare Association jointly went to court seeking to block implementation of the new water law. The petitioners were challenging the validity and constitutionality of the law.

In the suit, the county government, Water Services Regulation Board and the Attorney General were named as respondents. Thika Water and Sewerage Company Ltd was also named in the suit.

Last Thursday, the High Court in Nairobi issued orders barring the Kiambu government from merging the firms into one entity.

“A conservatory order be and is hereby issued against implementation and operationalisation of Kiambu Water and Sanitation (Amendment) Act 2018 pending the hearing and determination of the petition,” read part of the court order.

But the next day, Mr Waititu (pictured) went ahead and dissolved the eight water companies. In a ceremony at the county headquarters, the governor led senior county officials in launching the new water firm.

Waititu described the creation of Kiambu County Water and Sewerage Company Ltd as a historic achievement.

“The process to wind up the companies started during my predecessor’s tenure. Even when I was an assistant minister for Water and Irrigation, the process had begun but there was no political goodwill to see it through. But I decided when I became the governor, we would achieve this one strong company for our county," said Waititu.

“Only 54 per cent of Kiambu residents have access to clean domestic water. We promised in our manifesto that we were going to ensure that all residents had access to clean water. Once we have one strong company, we are going to benefit from economies of scale."

Dissolved firms

The water and sewerage firms that were dissolved served Thika, Kiambu, Kikuyu, Limuru, Githunguri, Gatundu, Karuri, Ruiru and Juja towns.

But Mr Wamwangi argued that water sector reforms necessitated the formation of limited liability companies to take over water and sewerage assets from defunct local authorities.

He said the new law robbed the petitioners and water users within the jurisdiction of Thika Water and Sewerage Company the "enjoyment of the tenets of devolution".