WHY THERE’S NO HOPE FOR SONKO

Nairobi County Government has announced that it will vet Anne Kananu Mwenda for the position of Deputy Governor after a petition filed against her nomination  in court was withdrawn. 

Kananu was nominated by former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko before he was impeached in December 2020. Peter Agoro, who had petitioned a Nairobi court in January 2020 to stop Kananu’s assumption to office withdrew his petition on Monday, January 4, 2021.

The Clerk of the County Assembly through a notice published on Thursday, January 7, said that they will vet Kananu on Friday, January 15. If vetted and approved, she might be the next Governor of Nairobi

“Notice is hereby given of approval hearing to be undertaken by the County Assembly’s Select Committee on Appointments, on January 15, in the County Assembly Plenary Chamber starting 9 am,” Edward Gichana, the Clerk said.

Kananu was required to collect the vetting forms from the Office of the Clerk during official working hours as from January 8 and return them together with copies of relevant documents by January 11. 

Among the documents are compliance certificates from the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), a clearance certificate from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), and a good conduct certificate from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). 

This process has set the stage for a confrontation between the county government and parties interested in succeeding Sonko through the by-election slated for February 18. 

The court, however, issued orders stopping the by-elections from taking place until a case filed by Sonko challenging his impeachment was heard. Sonko accused Jubilee politicians of orchestrating his impeachment motion. 

The former governor is reportedly seeking to block Kananu’s vetting process, arguing that he revoked her nomination in 2020. 

A number of leaders have spoken out against the vetting of Kananu, which if it goes through, will make the by-election unnecessary.  

“I am shocked. I rarely engage in some issues, but this is going to set a terrible precedent. At the time Sonko was impeached there was no Deputy Governor. All pending actions by Sonko/Kananu should collapse,” former Kiambu Governor William Kabigo tweeted.