- A lawyer in Nairobi and the GEMA Watho Party have filed a petition with the Mountain Law Courts to suspend the partnership agreement between Ruto and Sakaja, saying it is “against the law and unconstitutional.”
- The petition says the agreement undermines devolution, lacks “organized, county-wide public participation,” and unconstitutionally established a state-led Steering Committee.
- The court has ordered responses by March 13, while the matter is expected to be mentioned on May 5, 2025
A lawyer based in Nairobi has filed a petition in court challenging the validity of the cooperation agreement signed between the national governments and Nairobi counties.
Source: Twitter
Steve Mbugua Wanjiru and the GEMA WATHO Party filed the petition in the Mountain Law Courts seeking orders to stop the implementation of the agreement, saying it is illegal and unconstitutional.
The plaintiffs claimed that the agreement signed between President William Ruto and the governor of Nairobi Johnson on February 17, 2025, violated important articles of the constitution and laws that protect devolution and principles of good governance.
Why did the plaintiffs file a court case against the Ruto-Sakaja agreement
They claimed that the agreement was reached without any meaningful public participation being done as required under Article 10 of the Constitution.
“At no time prior to the implementation of the Agreement and the initial steps of implementation where the public participation process was planned, which follows Article 10 and the Law of County Governments where the residents were given the draft of the Agreement, the information of the records, the financial implications, the administrative implications, or the alternative participation systems,” read the request.
The plaintiffs further alleged that the impugned Agreement established an Illegal Operations Committee chaired by a national executive officer with the authority to coordinate planning, resources, implementation and issue legal directives.
“This is therefore unconstitutional to the extent that it affects a radical change in the constitutional separation of powers without constitutional amendment or compliance with Article 187,” read the petition.
Mbugua, a former member of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) council, said that the impugned Agreement creates a separate governance system for Nairobi City County which is not available to other county governments under the Constitution, thus it is unconstitutional.
“By entrusting Nairobi’s devolved functions to the national authority for executive orders while leaving other counties to carry out their functions within county structures only, the Agreement brings balance to the devolution system,” said the lawyer.
In the application, the Mbugau and Watho Party told the court that the difference in Nairobi City County undermines the equal constitutional status of county governments under Article 6(2), thereby distorting the equal distribution of duties under Article 186 and the Fourth Schedule.
Source: Facebook
This, according to the plaintiffs, creates a governance arrangement “that allows national participation in one county without constitutional approval; and denies the residents of Nairobi the same protections of the constitutional devolution system enjoyed by residents of other counties,”
How the court responded to the petition against the Ruto-Sakaja agreement
The court has ordered the Office of the Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers, the Attorney General, and the other five accused parties to submit answers to the petition and petition by March 13, 2025.
The case will be mentioned on May 5, 2025.
On February 17, Sakaja secured additional financing of KSh 80 billion through a historic partnership agreement with the National Government, one of the largest capital contributions since devolution began.
Within the Ruto-Sakaja agreement
Signed together with Rutothe agreement is expected to send billions more to the rehabilitation of Nairobi’s cities through an organized partnership between governments.
The system describes joint efforts in improving infrastructure, better waste management, expanding urban mobility, and strengthening public services.
Considered in Section 6 of the Law on Urban Areas and Cities, it establishes a formal mechanism for cooperation between the two levels of government.
Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers Stay Mudavadi he signed on behalf of the National Government, while Sakaja represented Nairobi County, with leaders hailing the agreement as a long-term change in capital management and funding.
Ruto stressed that the plan would be purely cooperative and financial, ignoring concerns about taking over counties.
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Source: TUKO.co.ke
