The recent order by opposition leader Raila Odinga in Likoni had blessings from President Uhuru Kenyatta, it has been established.
Last week, Mr Odinga, who was flanked by Transport CS James Macharia, ordered KPA to stop dredging activities at Likoni channel to allow retrieval of the bodies of two people who had plunged to the ocean.
"I want to give an order here that the dredging works stop immediately so that those who are working here can work without interference," Raila ordered.
While the goverment did not implement the order immediately, dredging activities were stopped later before the retrieval of Amanda Mutheu and Mariam Kighenda's bodies.
Sources claim that the order caught goverment officials flat-footed, but they later implemented it when it emerged that President Uhuru Kenyatta had consulted with him.
The move which shows Raila's influence in government rattled Deputy President William Ruto's allies, with South Mugirango MP Sylvanus Osoro hitting back.
“We have urged government officials to ignore any orders from pedestrians in government. Let the public officers treat his (Raila's) directives with contempt,” Osoro said.
When asked if Raila had powers to give orders to government officials, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi said the ODM leader can only give an opinion.
“He can express his opinion as an African Union Envoy for Infrastructure. Since he holds no position in government, I will take it that he was expressing his opinion, perhaps as an engineer also. What I don’t know is whether the instruction [to stop dredging] was based on some advice from experts or if it was spur of the moment,” Muturi said.
Political analyst Javas Bigambo says Odinga did not issue the orders as AU High Representative for Infrastructural Development but as a close confidant of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“It is not possible for Raila to go into Uganda or Ethiopia and issue such orders. The laws of those countries do not give him that latitude,” Bigambo said.