Pledges galore as governors sworn in
Kenyans ushered in a new era in devolution yesterday when 36 new faces took over the running of the devolved units making one of the biggest turnovers in county leadership.
The new names joined nine others who successfully defended their seats during the August 9 elections, as they took the oath of office to start leading the counties for the next five years.
Next week, the 45 governors will be joined by two others who are waiting for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to conduct delayed elections on Monday.
Kakamega and Mombasa elections were delayed due to a mix-up in ballot papers.
Among the new county bosses were seven women governors who were sworn in, the highest since the onset of devolution in 2013. This is more than double those elected in 2017 and a massive improvement from the 2013 elections when none were elected.
From today, the leaders will be charged with overseeing over Sh400 billion allocated to counties each year. That means counties that elected prudent managers stand to benefit over those that did not examine the integrity of the candidates.
New governors will have to devise quick ways to deal with loads of challenges ahead of them, top among them pending bills running into billions of shillings.
Their voters will also be closely watching them as they begin to implement programmes they promised during campaigns.
President-elect William Ruto, who graced the swearing-in of Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, challenged all county bosses to rise up to the occasion.
“Kenyans have trusted you with their aspirations and it is our duty to actualise them. Devolution as the centrepiece of our constitutional dispensation is now approaching its first decade,” he said during the ceremony held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre.
Azimio leader Raila Odinga also attended the swearing-in of Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o where he promised governors more money.
Raila, who expressed joy that his coalition had won 22 governor positions out of 47, exuded confidence they will capture the remaining two.
He said the numbers will enable Azimio to control the Council of Governors.
“We want more funds to be decentralised to make sense of the essence of creating the devolved administrative units,” Raila said at the Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium in Kisumu.
Public places
All across the country, all the governors-elect presented themselves for the swearing-in ceremonies in their respective counties as required by the Assumption of the Office of the Governor Act.
This marked the first time all the governors-elect took office on the same day and the events were overseen by High Court judges who swore them in public places between 10 am and 2 pm as demanded by law.
The law was enacted to redress the disorderly assumption of office by governors.
“The county governor-elect shall be sworn-in on the first Thursday after the 10th day following the declaration of the final results of the election of the county governor by the (electoral) commission,” the Act.
Sakaja, who won the seat despite a thick cloud hanging over his academic qualifications, will be in charge of the capital city.
The former senator shook off the numerous challenges to emerge victorious after garnering 699,392 votes compared to Polycarp Igathe who got 573,518 votes to finish second.
Yesterday, Sakaja, 37, became one of Kenya’s youngest governors and will be charged with infusing life into the administration of a city that is struggling under myriad challenges, top among them poor service delivery, haphazard waste disposal, rogue public transport and pending bills running into hundreds of millions of shillings.
Sakaja’s swearing-in also marked the end of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services, the body headed by Lieutenant-General Mohamed Badi that was formed in March 2020 to run the city after Governor Mike Sonko handed over his powers to the national government.
Sakaja, who promised to bring order to the city, will be in control of close to Sh20 billion allocated to the county every financial year in addition to the tax the county collects from sources like land rates and parking fees.
“The days of coming home to demolished houses in Nairobi are over. The days for hawkers being chased and harassed as they try to make a living are over,” he said.
Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika, who has risen from being a county Assembly Speaker and senator and now governor, said her focus will be to provide solutions to the challenges facing the people of Nakuru.
“In my visit to the villages, mothers and children had one cry; to have access to clean drinking water and that is what I intend to do,” said Kihika, who defeated former Governor Lee Kinyanjui to become the first female governor in the county.
Meanwhile, the first challenge for new governors in the North Rift will be finding a long-term solution to insecurity in the region.
Yesterday, each promised to prioritise fighting bandits, saying the region deserved peace to develop.
Benjamin Cheboi (Baringo), Wesley Rotich (Elgeyo Marakwet) and Simon Kachapin (West Pokot) pledged to work together to end the perennial cattle rustling menace, which has devastated the region.
Rotich, who took the oath of office at Iten Sports Grounds, said regional leaders will hold a series of peace meetings in the banditry-ravaged Kerio Valley.
Enormous resources
“Our region is endowed with enormous resources but it has lagged behind in development due to insecurity. We will soon, with my colleagues, embark on peace meetings to unite our people,” he said.
In Nyanza, celebrations were guarded as leaders asked wananchi to wait until the Supreme Court delivers its verdict on the presidential election petition filed by Azimio flagbearer Raila, who hails from the region.
Raila has challenged the declaration of Ruto as president-elect by IEBC.
In Meru, Kawira Mwangaza, who beat the odds to emerge victorious as an independent candidate, promised to turn around the fortunes of the residents who entrusted her with the powerful seat.
She, however, said it would not be business as usual, warning cartels that their days were over. She said the county had Sh1.2 billion in pending bills.
“I will immediately take an audit in the next one month to investigate the huge debt and if corruption will be cited then I will go directly to corrupt individuals. It does not matter who it will be,” said Kawira, who was sworn in at Kinoru Stadium.
In Nyamira, Governor Amos Nyaribo also took office for a second term and used the event to call for a truce, asking those he defeated to join him in developing the county.
“I am humbly inviting those I was competing with for this position to accept the people’s choice and join me so that we can plan on how to go about development in our county,” he said.
