Nairobi County's Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko might have lost the power to appoint a deputy governor following a ruling by Magistrate Douglas Ogoti on Wednesday.
This is according to Constitutional expert and lawyer Bobby Mkangi who pointed out that the governor only had the power to appoint a deputy before the court ruling.
“If he could have picked a deputy before the pronouncement of the court that would have had some weight. With the order barring him from accessing office, he has been suspended from discharging duties of the governor,” Mkangi stated as quoted by The Star.
Lawyer Nzamba Kitonga who was part of a Committee of Experts that oversaw Constitutional Review, however, differed with Mr Mkangi's sentiments.
He pointed out that Sonko being barred from accessing office does not mean he has lost his powers as the governor of Nairobi county.“
"Being denied access to his office does not take away his constitutional powers to appoint a deputy governor,” he noted.
Sonko was released on a cash bail of Ksh15 million on Wednesday. One of the conditions of his release was that he does not access his office. According to the governor's confidant, Sonko might just appoint a DG from his residence in Maua.
The ruling has placed Nairobi County in a leadership crisis as the position of the Deputy Governor who is supposed to act as the governor is vacant.