Sakaja seeks special Senate sitting over Nairobi county crisis
Speaker of the Senate Ken Lusaka has admitted to receiving a request by Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja to convene a special sitting to discuss the crisis in Nairobi county after Governor Mike Sonko was barred by the court from accessing office.
On Wednesday, Lusaka confirmed receipt of a letter by Sakaja asking for a Senate special sitting to discuss the leadership crisis in Nairobi.
On Wednesday, Sakaja wrote to Lusaka calling for a special sitting, saying it will allow the Senate to give direction, including resolving to take legal or legislative action in the interest of the people of Nairobi.
Deliver mandate
The Senator said Sonko having being barred from office cannot deliver on his mandate.
“My office is considering the request and I will give an official response in due time,” Lusaka said on Twitter, even as it emerged that City Hall could be headed for more trouble after its accounts were frozen.
The Senator also pleaded with President Uhuru Kenyatta to urgently convene the Summit—a meeting of the 47 governors that the president chairs and which is deputised by Deputy President William Ruto, to seek a way out of the constitutional crisis facing Nairobi county.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Nairobi County Assembly Minority Whip Peter Imwatok confirmed that the County Government’s accounts had been frozen.
As the County Assembly pegs its hopes on an advisory from the Attorney General on the leadership of the county in the latest intrigues facing its governor, MCAs want a special sitting to discuss the Supplementary budget to pave way for the flow of funds.
Planned recess
“The County is in a deep financial crisis with so many unpaid bills including salaries. There is a need for an urgent meeting to solve these pending matters,” he told journalists at Charter Hall.
On Wednesday, the anti-corruption court barred Sonko from accessing office pending determination of corruption and abuse of office charges facing him.
On the same day, Speaker Beatrice Elachi told MCAs that they will have to proceed on recess as planned but asked them to be ready to return if they are called for a special sitting to discuss the crisis.
But this did not go down well with some MCAs, mainly from the opposition side. Led by Leader of Minority David Mberia (Karen/Lang’ata Ward MCA), the MCAs wanted an extension to discuss county matters.
“We are waiting for directions from our party leader Raila Odinga on the way forward.”The assembly calendar, shows that MCAs resume sittings in February next.
