By Patricia Mollyne Mataga
Azimio spokesperson Prof Makau Mutua has called for the establishment of a special provision that will guide the management of the Nairobi City County.
Mutua argues that Nairobi has its own complecaitons hence cannot be managed as other 46 counties.
In a post on his verified X handle, Mutua, who is also a Law Scholar noted that a simple governor cannot effectively run Nairobi.
He proposed for a special constitutional status that will see the city county be put under the National government but with hybrid powers.
“It’s clear that a simple governor cannot run Nairobi the way other counties are governed. Let’s carve out a special constitutional status for the capital as they do in serious countries,” Mutua said in part of the post.
“It should be put under the national government but with hybrid powers,” he added.
Nairobi is one of the 47 devolved units in the country.
Since the inception of devolution, the county has already had four governors.
The piooner county boss Evans Kidero served from 2013 until he lost to Mike Sonko in 2017.
Sonko’s term was however marred with controversies and was eventually impeached in December 2010, after which then-Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Benson Mutura served as acting county boss.
Later, Ann Kananu was sworn in as the governor – but during her tenure, President William Ruto crafted an agreement that saw the establishment of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services under Lt. General Mohamed Badi which handled several projects.
In 2022, Johnson Sakaja was elected new governor, after which the tenure of the Metropolutan came to an end.
Sakaja’s leadership has been under scrutiny, with Makau Mutua’s calls for a hybrid management of the city county bringing back the memories of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services.
Altering the status of the devolved units will however require a referendum.