Governors support Mike Sonko’s nomination of deputy

The Council of Governors (CoG) has okayed Governor Mike Sonko’s nomination of a deputy governor and urged the county assembly to expedite her vetting.

Mike Sonko on Monday nominated Anne Kananu Mwenda as his deputy. Ms Kananu is the chief officer of disaster management and coordination. She is also the acting chief officer of water.

In a letter addressed to Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi, Sonko argued that there was a “legal vacuum then, which has not been cured to this day, to provide for a framework for the replacement of a deputy governor”.

CoG said Sonko exercised his Constitutional mandate as the county chief and the move with restore normalcy in Nairobi and allow continued service delivery.

“We acknowledge the nomination in line with Article 180(5) which provides that a county governor shall nominate a person who is qualified,” CoG chair Wycliffe Oparanya said.

The move by CoG puts them on a collision path with the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) who have opposed the nomination.

DPP Noordin Haji challenged the nomination, arguing that the governor, who is facing graft charges and has been barred from office by the court, could not exercise such powers.

“We will move to court to challenge this move. The court was clear on what Sonko cannot do. To purport to have power to name a deputy while his case is still on is a violation of the bail terms given to him,” Haji warned on Monday.

Today, he added that his office will seek an interpretation of the court’s directive what it meant governors should stay away from office.

But Sonko insists he did not violate the bail terms granted by Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti last month.

“The court in its bail ruling dated December 11, 2019 did not bar our client from exercising the constitutional and statutory functions of his office. Our client is duty bound to perform those actions which do not require him to access to the office and which can only be done by him,” Sonko said in a letter through his lawyers to the ODPP.

County assembly

The Beatrice Elachi-headed assembly has also ruled out expediting the vetting of the nominee.

The ward legislators said they had agreed during their closed-door informal meeting that they would consider the nomination of the disaster management chief officer once they resume from recess on February 15.

The MCAs said they would introduce a motion on the floor of the House today for the formation of an ad hoc committee to oversee the resumption to normalcy of county operations.