Nakuru activists want COB to stop budget approval for deal between NYS, Nakuru County

President William Ruto inspects a guard consisting of National Youth Service recruits on August 26, 2024 at Gilgil Sub County within Nakuru County, during the Kenya National Youth Service recruits pass-out parade.[FILE,Standard]

Two activists have written to the Controller of Budget (CoB), Margaret Nyakang’o, to stop money approval in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Youth Service (NYS) and Nakuru County.

Benson Macharia and Simon Nasieku request that the CoB halt any requests from the Nakuru County Government arising from the MoU signed on November 7, 2025.

The two submit that the Sh2.1 billion agreement is for equipment hiring, feeder road construction, among others.

“We understand that the hiring arrangement has been extended to the State Department of Public Works without following due procedure,” they depose.

According to the two, the agreement will disrupt planned development activities as captured in the Annual Development Plan 2025 and approved estimates for 2025 as submitted to Nyakang’o’s office.

They submit that the MoU goes against Article 10 of the Constitution because it was allegedly not subjected to public participation.

“The MoU goes against the Public Finance Management Act because it was signed without the proper public participation to accommodate the same,” they depose.

They point out that the Nakuru County Assembly, through a letter dated November 13, called for the halting of the implementation of the MoU.

According to the two, the assembly submitted that the MoU was shrouded in mystery and its implementation would be opaque and would lock out any oversight.

The letter follows a ruling by the High Court, which temporarily suspended the MoU until two petitions — one filed by Macharia and Nasieku and the other by Paul Muchiri and Kepha Omuyoma — are heard and determined.

Judge Julius Nangea halted the execution of the Sh2.1 billion road deal after public participation concerns were raised in the petitions.

He directed the case to be mentioned in a month’s time and urged the parties to file their responses within seven days each and submissions within 21 days.

Muchiri and Omuyoma had argued that the agreement bypassed legal procedures and could not be operationalised until the matter was resolved in court.

They requested the court to stop the county government from approving or making any payments to NYS until the petition is heard and determined.

The county government entered an MoU with NYS to maintain all feeder roads under the Imarisha Barabara programme over the next year.

Nakuru MCAs and local leaders welcomed the ruling, accusing Governor Susan Kihika of flouting the law and bypassing the assembly’s decision-making.

Naivasha East MCA Stanley Karanja said the executive intimidated ward leaders to accept the controversial MoU.

“The agreement requires the county to pay 50 per cent of the contract value before operations begin, despite its failure to settle pending bills owed to existing contractors,” he said.

Karanja questioned the reason the county was using NYS machinery and personnel when equipment procured by previous governors remained idle.

Maina Onyancha said the county had failed to conduct mandatory public participation, denying residents a chance to approve the process.

“Under this agreement, MCAs from all 55 wards will not be permitted to oversee the funds allocated to the projects, which is contrary to the law,” he said.

The case will be mentioned on January 19, 2026.