The Nairobi County Assembly has been petitioned by a Non-Governmental Organisation to reject the nomination of Lawyer Miguna Miguna as Deputy Governor, and demand for a new nominee.
The NGO, Active Citizens says the county assembly has remained silent on the matter nearly a month since Governor Mike Sonko made the controversial nomination. In a letter to the County Assembly Speaker, Beatrice Elachi, the NGO says Miguna does not fit into the constitutional integrity threshold as he has proclaimed himself to be the leader of an outlawed group, the National Resistance Movement (NRM).“We note that the nominee is not a member of the party that sponsored the Governor to office, does not meet the requirement of Chapter 6 of the Constitution of Kenya as he is a self proclaimed general of a liberation movement and is not a citizen of Kenya, all of which are basic legal requirements for a nominee to the office of Deputy Governor,” reads part of the petition. The NGO accuses Governor Sonko of picking Miguna to attract public attention as well as ensure the DG position continues to remain vacant.“We are concerned that the attitude of the Governor leaves no doubt that he is not interested in the appointment of a person to hold the office of a deputy governor and is only engaging in sideshows for him to continue hogging the public limelight,” claims the group. ” The County Assembly should not fall to his scheme but rather reject the vetting of Mr Miguna and ask Sonko to nominate another candidate who is qualified under the laws to be a deputy governor.”While Miguna has rejected the position, his nomination triggered a political storm that worsened relations between Governor Sonko and members of the Jubilee Party under which he was elected.