Sifuna raises red flags in Sh80b Sakaja-Ruto deal

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna addresses the media on the Cooperation  Agreement between the  National Government and Nairobi County at Red Cross Media Centre, Parliament Buildings, Nairobi on February 18, 2026. He termed the agreement as a 'back door power takeover '. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has faulted the cooperation agreement signed between the county and the national government, citing alleged violations of the law including a constitutional requirement for such major decisions to be subjected to a process of public participation.

Speaking during a press briefing at Parliament Buildings on Wednesday, February 18, Sifuna questioned the rationale used to arrive at the Sh80 billion the government plans to inject in the county. 

The amount, he said, was less than Sh100 billion state agencies owe the county.

“It is in the public knowledge that the national government owes Nairobi County Sh100 billion in unpaid rates, and other payables, from the national government institutions,” said Sifuna, adding, “Ruto throwing around the figure of Sh80 billion as a symbol of his generosity to the people of Nairobi is nothing but a ruse.”

Instead, the Senator urged President William Ruto to direct various state agencies to disburse funds owed to the County Government of Nairobi, and unbundle all county functions still held by the national government.

He further criticised Governor Johnson Sakaja for abandoning his promise to never hand over roles to the state by agreeing to a pact similar to the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS), whose tenure featured accumulation of huge pending bills, weak audits, and corruption.

Sakaja in his State of the County address last week, dismissed initial reports of a plan to transfer some functions to the national government, some which have contributed to the dwindling popularity of his administration.

According to Sifuna, by putting ink to paper on the deal the county signed up for a return of these ills.

The pact, formalised at a State House event on Tuesday, has raised concerns over possible meddling into the county affairs by the national government, contrary to the autonomy the constitution grants counties in the spirit of devolution.

Pact violates law

Sifuna also warned that the agreement complicates oversight by the County Assembly, Senate, and the Auditor General in addition to usurping powers of county officials.

“The steering committee established to oversee the agreement is very national government heavy. Of its 12 members, a whopping two-thirds are appointees of the national government. From its structure the governor plays subservient to Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi making Sakaja the new Deputy Governor,” he said.

The agreement will come into effect in two weeks.

Both Ruto and Sakaja have denied reports that the cooperation agreement amounts to transfer of roles between the two levels of government.