President William Ruto’s announcement of a partnership with Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja to manage the capital has triggered memories of the controversial Nairobi Metropolitan Services and raised questions about the county government’s capacity to deliver services.
Nairobi residents nursing memories of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) were caught off guard on Sunday when President William Ruto announced plans to enter into a partnership with Governor Johnson Sakaja to restore the capital’s image.
The announcement has sparked debate about whether this marks a return to the transfer of functions that characterized the Mohammed Badi-led NMS era.
Speaking at a public event, President Ruto did not mince his words about the state of the capital.
“Nairobi cannot continue to be the city in filth,” he declared, outlining an ambitious plan to tackle waste management, improve roads, and install street lighting across the metropolis.
The partnership, according to Governor Sakaja, will involve the private sector and focus purely on development.
He cited a collaboration with a Chinese company to generate 45 megawatts of power from waste processed at the Dandora dumpsite as an example of what the initiative could achieve.
However, the announcement has exposed deep divisions among Nairobi’s political leadership.
Kileleshwa Ward Representative Robert Alai was particularly scathing in his assessment, describing the partnership as an indictment of Sakaja’s administration.
“The problems in Nairobi is the incompetence of the governor. The governor cannot bring services, he cannot talk with the corporates, he cannot talk to the private sector,” Alai said.
The criticism speaks to broader frustrations with service delivery in Nairobi. Despite receiving the largest allocation from the County Allocation Revenue, the capital continues to grapple with mountains of uncollected garbage, potholed roads, broken street lights, and clogged drainage systems.
Images of waste heaps along Juja Road and in Eastleigh have become emblematic of a city struggling with basic sanitation.
Embakasi Central MP Benjamin Gathiru echoed concerns about accountability, questioning why additional resources should be channeled to City Hall when current allocations appear to be mismanaged.
“It is just that the money is being stolen by diverting it to pay lawyers and the companies that are said to be collecting garbage, yet we still have a problem with uncollected garbage,” he said.
Nevertheless, not all leaders view the partnership negatively.
Makadara MP George Aladwa welcomed the President’s intervention, noting that a clean and attractive capital is essential for attracting investors and spurring development.
President Ruto revealed that cleanup efforts are already underway through the Nairobi River Regeneration Project, which has employed thousands of young people.
He committed the national government to providing resources for the initiative and pledged that all roads in the capital would be tarmacked.
“We must not have mud along our roads. This city will have street lights so that we make sure that Nairobi is clean, becomes motorable and a city in the light, not in darkness,” he said.
The announcement inevitably draws comparisons to the NMS, which was established in 2020 through a deed of transfer that saw four key county functions—health, transport, public works, and planning—moved to the national government under Major General Badi.
Defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services ex-boss General Mohamed Badi
While the NMS achieved notable successes in road construction and market renovations, it was also criticized for undermining devolution and sidelining elected county leadership.
The NMS was eventually dissolved after the 2022 elections, with functions reverting to the county government.
Governor Sakaja, who campaigned on a platform of reclaiming Nairobi’s autonomy, now finds himself in the awkward position of inviting national government intervention barely three years into his term.
Critical questions remain unanswered.
What specific functions, if any, will be transferred under this new partnership? Will the county retain control over revenue collection and budget allocation? And most importantly, how will this arrangement differ from the NMS model that many saw as an affront to devolution?
The President has promised that details of the partnership will be finalized soon.
Until then, Nairobi residents can only watch and wait, hoping that this latest intervention will finally deliver the clean, functional city they have long been promised, rather than another experiment in governance that prioritizes politics over service delivery.
Land Acquisition Tribunal quashes gazette notices in bungled acquisition process that left mosque trustees seeking billions in compensation
A Land Acquisition Tribunal has delivered a crushing blow to what appears to have been a poorly executed land acquisition scheme initiated by former Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) Director-General Mohamed Badi, rejecting the Jamia Mosque’s bid for Sh3.9 billion compensation.
The tribunal, chaired by Dr Nabil Orina and member George Supeyo, quashed multiple gazette notices published between 2021 and 2023, ruling that the compulsory acquisition process for land near Globe Cinema Roundabout was fundamentally flawed and incomplete.
The controversial acquisition began in 2021 under Badi’s leadership at NMS, with the National Land Commission (NLC) publishing gazette notices intended to acquire land parcel L.R. No 209/136/259 for the construction of the Globe Roundabout Public Transport Terminal.
Jamia Mosque, Nairobi.
However, the tribunal found that while the process was “properly commenced,” it was subsequently “mismanaged,” leaving the registered trustees of Jamia Masjid Ahle Sunait Wal Jamai in legal limbo and unable to fully utilize their property.
“The intended acquisition was left hanging and in the process, prevented the registered trustees from fully using the land,” the tribunal noted in its ruling.
NMS-County government blame game
When NMS was dissolved and its functions transferred back to Nairobi County Government, the acquisition process was abandoned without proper closure.
This created a messy situation where neither the county government nor the NLC took responsibility for completing or formally canceling the acquisition.
The county government distanced itself from the process, with lawyer Titus Koceyo arguing that the original request by NMS was “irregularly done” since it didn’t originate from the county executive committee member responsible for lands, as required by law.
The NLC, meanwhile, maintained that the gazettement of the property didn’t constitute actual compulsory acquisition and that the trustees’ compensation claim was “speculative, premature and not founded in law.”
The tribunal expressed frustration with both institutions’ handling of the matter, questioning why neither the NLC nor the county government had taken steps to resolve the property’s uncertain status.
“Since city hall was no longer interested in the acquisition of the land, it should have instructed NLC to withdraw the notices, instead of trading blame,” the tribunal observed.
The ruling emphasized that the NLC has a duty to “manage the process of compulsory acquisition” and should “take active steps to revoke intended acquisitions which are no longer needed or which fail to comply with the law.”
While the tribunal declared that both the NLC and Nairobi County Government had violated Jamia Mosque’s property rights through their “actions and omissions,” it firmly rejected the trustees’ prayer for Sh3.9 billion compensation.
“We find that the compulsory acquisition process over the claimant’s property is yet to be completed to warrant the claim for compensation,” Dr Orina ruled.
The tribunal issued an order quashing Gazette Notices No. 5402 and 10279 of 2021, 207 and 15995 of 2022, and 641 of 2023, effectively ending the troubled acquisition attempt.
Legacy of poor governance
The case highlights the institutional confusion and poor coordination that characterized some of the projects initiated during Badi’s tenure at NMS.
The former military officer, who was appointed to run NMS in 2020, oversaw several controversial urban development projects before the entity was dissolved in 2022.
The Jamia Mosque land dispute serves as a cautionary tale about the importance of following proper legal procedures in compulsory land acquisition and the consequences of institutional mismanagement on private property rights.
The mosque trustees, while unsuccessful in their compensation claim, can now proceed with full use of their property following the tribunal’s declaration that the acquisition notices are null and void.
The demons of City Hall didn’t disappear even with the transfer of critical functions to the General Badi’s led NMS. The City’s control center which is synonymous with scandals continues to make the familiar headlines even with Nairobi Deputy Governor Ann Kananu who took from the corrupt Mike Sonko being in control.
The DG is currently fighting numerous cases that has risked her getting arrested.
She was recently summoned by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations KRA Unit investigating a case involving the failure to remit income tax, withholding tax and PAYE contrary to Section 97 of the Tax Procedure Act.
Kananu moved to court to block her pending arrest over failure by county to remit Sh2.1bn tax arrears to KRA.
In the same week, court of appeal dealt a blow to Sonko who’s challenging the legality of Kananu occupying the office. Court ruled that Sonko having stayed out of office for over 10 months, he was no longer a Governor. This paved way for the swearing in of Kananu as the governor.
However, the celebrations was short lived as Sonko moved to the Supreme Court and stopped the swearing in.
Now, analysts believe that there’s a grand scheme by powerful forces to reinstate Sonko as the governor.
A network of powerful cartels in the corridors of justice is said to be frantically pushing for the return of former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko. In the scheme are judges, lawyers and politicians. This happens amidst fierce escalation of supremacy war between the executive and some individuals within the judiciary perceived to be bitter with Uhuru Kenyatta and who have consequently opted to team up with William Ruto, who pulls strings behind the scenes.
The mafias believed to have fully infiltrated the judiciary ostensibly played a major role in latest court drama that saw Sonko secure orders from the Supreme Court barring the swearing-in of acting governor Anne Kananu. There are predictions that Sonko is likely to be sneaked back to his former seat through a ruling that is coming in November in which he wants the appellate court to overturn the High Court decision and declare that he was illegally impeached.
Understandably, the idea to block Kananu’s swearing-in which came as a shocker was a result of high level consultation among the cartels, aware that Sonko stood no chance of getting back his job in the event that the deputy governor was sworn in as governor.
Failure to stop the swearing-in meant that even if Sonko was to get a favourable ruling in November, the verdict would have nothing to do with Kananu’s job. Sonko will then be governor and Kananu deputy. Constitutionally, a governor once sworn in office can only be removed through impeachment, death or through resignation. It is also against this background that the deep state and Kananu were upbeat of conducting an early morning swearing-in ceremony but which was rudely blocked.
To demonstrate how powerful individuals within the judiciary are the ones directing actions in Sonko’s case, the former governor was not moved by a decision to dismiss his appeal but instead casually went on his Facebook and confidently told his supporters to keep calm and wait for November when a petition challenging his removal will be heard in the Court. The orders barring the swearing-in of Kananu were issued by Supreme Court’s Justice Mohammed Ibrahim who certified Sonko’s application as urgent.
It is imperative to note that Ibrahim has close links with lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi who is a staunch ally of the deputy president. Also said to be part of the wider game plan to bring back Sonko is the Deputy Chief Justice and vice president of the Supreme Court Lady Justice Philomena Mwilu. Mwilu is bitter following the deep state’s power games that locked her out of the position of the Chief Justice currently held by Martha Koome. Apparently, the deputy chief justice feels that she is being frustrated and targeted by the state following her unending misfortunes as far as her professional life is concerned.
City Hall.
In her compounding tribulations, the office of the DPP is on record stating that it is confident of winning the graft and abuse of office case against the troubled DCJ. The DPP’s office has threatened to release the dossier which would seemingly secure Mwilu’s conviction. Shockingly, the Judicial Service Commission led by Chief Justice Koome cited that it had evidence on how the DCJ allegedly transacted over Sh20 million at the Supreme Court parking lot, her office building and her Kilimani home .
In a more dramatic development, former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga is the last to join the fray by telling judges to go on strike over the government’s failure to obey court orders. Mutunga’s appointment was linked to Ahamednassir then JSC member. The remarks did not go down well with Uhuru and CJ Koome who could not fathom how Mutunga was inciting judges to down their tools, given he served as the country’s CJ who should be aware of the fact that implications of calling for a judicial strike are far-reaching.
And as was widely expected, the Law Society of Kenya president Nelson Havi joined the war by defending Mutunga. According to Havi, the CJ should not have responded to Mutunga because it is common sense that judges cannot go on strike. Havi in his usual manner attacked Koome stating that ‘she lacks emotional intelligence and she needed not to respond to retired CJ’s call for judges to go on strike.
Back to city hall and Kananu’s tribulations.
Senate Devolution Committee chairman Moses Kajwang on Wednesday reprimanded Kananu for ignoring requests to go and explain reasons for paying Sh795 million to law firms out of the county’s allocation of Sh2.5 billion meant for clearance of pending bills.
Kananu had been invited to respond to a statement by nominated Senator Millicent Omanga who alleged the county was spending a huge chunk of its budget on legal fees.
She claimed in the statement that City Hall paid a total of Sh795.9 million out of the county allocation of Sh2.5 billion meant for the clearance of all pending bills in the financial year 2018-19.
Omanga also wants to know whether there was documentary evidence availed by the law firms to support the payments made by City Hall.
She also wants a progress investigation report by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission on investigation on the legal fees paid to lawyers for services by Nairobi county government during 2018-19.
In the past and for long, Imaginary court cases has costing Nairobians millions of shillings and this has been revealed in past audit reports.
Before Governor Evans Kidero took over in 2013, City Hall had outstanding legal claims amounting to Sh1.21 billion.
As at September 30, 2014, City Hall had sunk Sh133 million in court cases. Between June 30 and July 1, 2013, the county government spent Sh232 million on court cases.
Questioning humongous payments to lawyers, then AG Ouko said: “No evidence was provided to indicate the nature of the court cases. It is also not clear how so many legal cases arose within a year of the county assembly’s existence. It is also not clear how they were concluded.”
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has launched investigations into multi-million shilling dealings between 25 law firms and the Nairobi County government.
The probe is focused on payment of legal fees by City Hall to the firms between 2013 and 2020.
The EACC, in a letter dated January 21, wants the county secretary to furnish it with the specific case files handled by the 25 law firms between 2013 and 2020, including letters of instructions and contract agreements.
“The commission is undertaking investigations at Nairobi City County in respect of payments of legal fees to the following firms. To facilitate our investigations, kindly but urgently furnish us with the original documents in respect to the mentioned firms,” states the letter.
The law firms
The firms include Irungu Kang’ata and Co. Advocates, Osundwa and Co. Advocates, Kwanga Mboya and Co. Advocates, Kithi and Co. Advocates, Wanjiku Maina and Co. Advocates, E.Onyango and Co. Advocates, J.O Magolo and Co. Advocates, Ario Advocates, Maskam ( Asanyo), E.N Omoti and Co. Advocates and Ogeto Ottachi and Co. Advocates.
The EACC further asked to be furnished with all payment vouchers, cheque counterfoil and a list of pre-qualified law firms for the period under investigation.
This is in addition to minutes approving the list of pre-qualified law firms and any other documents relevant to the probe.
MCAs’ complaints
The probe comes a few months after Nairobi MCAs raised concerns over the payment of large amounts of money to some law firms yet the county has not won any court cases recently.
The ward representatives also made allegations of favouritism by City Hall in the clearance of lawyers’ bills instead of small scale suppliers owed less money.
City Hall paid legal fees to the tune of Sh795.9 million out of the Sh2.5 billion allocated for clearance of all pending bills, locking out other suppliers and contractors.
As a result, MCAs, through a motion by Silvia Museiya (nominated), called on the county executive to come up with a policy to streamline outsourcing of legal services.
The legislators alleged that the outsourcing has turned into a business, with some lawyers colluding with officers in the executive, including those in the office of the county attorney, to siphon money from the county.
They claimed an unnamed law firm was paid Sh250 million despite not carrying out any legal transaction with the county government.
Audit report
Painting a grim picture of the state in the legal department at City Hall, the Auditor-General’s report for the 2016/2017 financial year revealed the department spent Sh592.4 million on unauthorised payments.
According to the report, the department spent Sh645.3 million on legal costs against an approved budget of Sh105 million.
Interestingly, the bulk of the money, Sh314.4 million, was paid to some 12 firms. The payment was not included in the Integrated Financial Management Information System (Ifmis).
In February 2019, the assembly’s Public Accounts Committee found that the legal department spent Sh480 million, more than four times the Sh100 million budgeted for.
The payments were made without documentary evidence, including a total of Sh318.4 million which was sent to several lawyers.
In the 2018/2019 financial year, a total of Sh795.9 million was paid to 48 law firms yet only eight raised fee notes.
During that financial year, 335 cases were handled by the legal department but only 12 of them were successful. The rest were either withdrawn or lost.
City Hall Capture By Cartels
When President Uhuru Kenyatta established the Nairobi Metropolitan Services in March last year, he tasked Major General Mohamed Badi and his team with dismantling cartels in Nairobi County and ending corruption.
The President had been alarmed by runaway corruption at City Hall, that had made service delivery impossible.
He said the cartels had a vice-like grip on the county government services, from garbage collection to parking, water supply and issuance of permits.
At the time, Governor Mike Sonko was facing a Sh357 million corruption charge, which eventually saw him barred from accessing his City Hall office.
Several corruption-related investigation cases had also been opened by different investigative agencies, ranging from multi-million garbage tender awards to the multi-billion stadiums construction saga.
However, after a short lull following the impeachment of Mr Sonko in December last year, with transition of power from Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Benson Mutura to Deputy Governor Ann Kananu, the cartels are back, this time bolder and more ferocious.
Payments to lawyers, utilisation of Covid-19 funds, AAR-City Hall staff medical scheme and Covid-19 relief programme are just but some of the brewing scandals that could yet again sink the city county back to its old ways.
Nairobi County Assembly Minority Chief Whip Peter Imwatok, who appeared to be at the forefront of the transition at City Hall, even at times directing Ms Kananu during press briefings, has in the past weeks turned into a whistleblower, lifting the lid on the happenings at City Hall.
The first was in a letter dated April 27, 2021, where the Makongeni MCA wrote to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Director of Public Prosecutions to investigate “suspicious and skewed” payments to 13 law firms by the Ms Kananu-led administration.
In the letter, Mr Imwatok alleges that more than Sh410 million was irregularly paid to the law firms with no information on the cases handled.
The second-term county legislator claimed the payments were made between February 9 and March 30, 2021.
Nairobi acting Governor Anne Kananu.
In January, the EACC had written to City Hall about investigation of 25 law firms over an alleged payment of Sh500 million-worth of legal fees to the law firms with the anti-graft agency following specific case files handled by the law firms between 2013 and 2020, including details of the cases, letters of instructions and contract agreements.
“It has come to our attention that even before the investigations with regards to this matter commenced, if ever they did, the Nairobi City County proceeded to pay the lawyers monies amounting to over Sh410 million,” read in part the letter.
But before all that could settle, another bombshell was dropped. Mr Imwatok wrote to the EACC and the DPP, asking them to investigate a payment of Sh275 million to suppliers.
He claimed that some seven companies, acting as “proxies to MCAs or members of county staff” undertook works or supplies in the Environment Department and/or supplied food as part of the Nairobi County Covid-19 feeding programme.
The ODM representative claimed that the county government had lined up the companies for payment for the services yet there is “no food that was ever supplied to the county or distributed to anyone”.
“It is absurd that taxpayer’s money amounting to Sh275 million shall be paid to companies belonging to MCAs or their proxies for either services and/or goods that were never supplied,” said Mr Imwatok in a letter dated April 26.
The Sh84 million feeding programme was to benefit 127,500 most vulnerable people in Nairobi’s informal settlements with foodstuff such as maize and wheat flour, sugar, rice, loaves of bread and powdered milk. Other items include blankets, sanitary towels and basins distributed to cushion them against the negative effects of the pandemic.
The programme was to run for three months between April and June 2021, with distribution done every week across Nairobi’s 17 sub-counties.
According to documents, the seven companies were given contracts worth between Sh3 million and Sh22 million to supply the items.
Procurement process
However, most MCAs have said their wards are yet to get any supplies, while those who were fortunate to receive the items said the package was not more than 50 bags.
“I not only have the contract but the invoice, the payment transaction, the CR12 of the companies and I have forwarded all to EACC. I am questioning the procurement process and I have evidence of procurement officers saying the processes were done without their consent,” said Mr Imwatok.
Then there is the controversial Sh1.7 billion AAR Insurance Kenya medical contract for City Hall staff, which has also been thrust in the spotlight.
Some MCAs have called for investigations into the deal, alleging that it has been turned into a cash cow by certain county officers, instead of benefiting the employees.
Waithaka MCA Antony Kiragu last month called on EACC and DCI to investigate the deal, claiming some county officials have been making money from the AAR-City Hall deal, with payments being staggered by the county government to give the individuals a platform to do business with the funds.
“The reason the payments are being done in phases is that people want to do business with AAR money. The officers want kickback from AAR,” charged Mr Kiragu.
Mr Kiragu’s assertions came hot on the heels of an announcement by Nairobi County Assembly Majority Leader Abdi Guyo that he will bring a motion to form an ad-hoc committee to look into the AAR-City Hall medical scheme.
The Matopeni MCA said the committee’s brief will be to investigate how AAR was awarded the tender, what services they are providing to staff and whether there is value for money.
But that is not all. Maj-Gen Badi and Ms Kananu were also summoned by Senate to respond to “cross-cutting issues” involving the NMS and City Hall over the expenditure of Covid-19 funds.
The summons came after a damning report by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu on the utilisation of Covid-19 funds by counties, which fingered NMS for a number of irregularities involving Sh294.38 million received from the national government in June 2020.
Some of the irregularities involved single-sourcing of a Sh64.9 million tender for design and maintenance of a makeshift isolation centre, irregular cash withdrawal of Sh32 million from a KCB account for facilitation of health workers and Sh120 million payment to frontline health workers without a budget.
The auditor could also not establish the whereabouts of some Sh182.07 million donated by the Danish International Development Agency and the county’s own contribution to boosting the war against Covid-19.
Nairobi County Assembly Majority Leader Abdi Guyo.
Mr Imwatok claim that cartels are back at City Hall in full swing, taking advantage of the vulnerability of Ms Kananu “who is seemingly out of touch with the reality of being an acting governor”.
“The county is opaque and nobody is in charge. It is everyone for him or herself,” he said.
A nasty falling out between Jubilee and Orange MCAs had been brewing following the revelations, with Mr Imwatok under siege as some ward representatives from his own party began collecting signatures to oust him as Minority Whip.
He was accused of using the party’s name in bad light at the county government to advance his selfish interests, allegations, which he denied.
“I will not be cowed from exposing corruption at the county government. Let the masters of corruption be prepared to face me to death. I am ready for the challenge as this is not the first time I am facing such threats,” he said.
The power tussle was seen Jubilee MCAs instigate the removal of Public Accounts Committee chairperson Wilfred Odalo of ODM, with 15 MCAs — three from ODM and 12 from Jubilee — appending their signatures.
But in retaliation, the Raila Odinga-led party withdrew its membership of the watchdog committee, citing intimidation and coercion of members into signing the removal of Mr Odalo as the chairperson.
The three MCAs who supported the removal of Mr Odalo — Jared Okode, Clarence Munga and Lawrence Otieno — were also withdrawn from the committees they serve in.
However, Mr Guyo hit back, saying the committee was to continue operating as long as it has a quorum.
He added that a chairperson of any committee serves at the pleasure of members and once that confidence is lost, the chair cannot force themselves on the members.
“It is not Jubilee’s business if they (ODM) decided to pull out. The chair has been accused of gross misconduct, which will taint the image of the assembly. The members have the right to choose their chair, who will still be from opposition,” said the Matopeni MCA.
Kenya Insights has documented well the city hall cartels and their nodes of operations. Guyo is the supremo and is the self proclaimed governor and speaker of the county government.
One wonders why and how this is possible given that Kananu and Badi are in position of control. As a woman we’re told she’s scared of Guyo and follows her commands, you can remember she was also fingered with Guyo in a Covid19 supply scandal. As for Badi, the two are bound by religion ties which has made them get along well giving Guyo to go about his deals with Badi looking the other way conveniently.
Despite the county drowning in debts and getting dragged in courts, Kananu under siege of cartels has been approving misuse of funds. Kenya Insights is informed that MCAs are flying out of the country on a weekly basis for unwarranted international trips costing taxpayers hundreds of millions.
In a bizarre move, we’re informed of a trip earlier this year where the budget committee traveled to Turkey to hold a board meeting there on how to plan the budget and pay pending bills. We’re adequately informed that the weekly trips of committee members mostly to Dubai cost Sh1M for each member. This is the new way of stealing and scheme of Guyo and cartels to buy loyalties of the MCAs who’re not willing to lose the privileges and will support any duty paper tabled in the assembly.
EACC should investigate this fraud scheme.
In the subsequent article, we will expound how an elaborate scheme to take over Nairobi by the cartels for the final eating after NMS term expires has been drawn. The plan that includes returning embattled Jacob Ngwele who by the way is billing city hall for his frivolous court cases and how his case in the court of appeal that is being handled by a former city hall staff now with judge Warsame is being mishandled and the judge swallowed in the scam. We expound on how the current acting clerk is related to the disgraced clerk Ngwele and generally the spirited effort behind bringing Ngwele back as championed by Guyo.
The silence from NMS is by design, we’re informed that a senior NMS official has his mouth shut given that he bought a petrol station franchise that is on a rapid expansion across the country and linked to land grabbing. We shall tell you more when the papers are right.
Kananu we’re informed is scared of getting impeached hence the soft hands on the cartels, unknown to her, she’s being fattened, handed scandals as she watches naively, and just like in Sonko’s she’ll be thrown under the bus and live in courts very soon.
”Ann Kananu is sonko but in a woman form.” Concluded a City Hall source speaking to Kenya Insights.
The NMS Health Directorate has today been awarded in Lisbon Portugal by Fast Track Cities Institute and UNAIDS with a ‘Circle of Excellence Award’ for being exemplary in HIV/AIDS fight.
“Since joining the Fast-Track Cities network in 2014, Nairobi City-County, in partnership with local, national, and international stakeholders, has made steady progress towards the aim of ending its HIV epidemic by 2030. Through its “Nairobi City-County HIV & AIDS Strategic Plan,” and innovative programming, Nairobi City-County has been successfully closing the gaps between HIV diagnoses and treatment initiation with antiretroviral therapy, as well as creating enabling environments for viral suppression. Equally impressive are efforts advanced in partnership with civil society to reach vulnerable population, through programming that attempts to address persistent HIV and intersectional stigma.” Dr. José M. Zuniga, FTCI President said.
NMS Health Director Dr. Ouma Oluga receiving the award in Lisbon from Dr. Jose M. Zuniga who is the President/CEO of IAPAC (International Association of Providers of AIDS Care). He is also the Co-Chair together with UNAIDS of Fast Track Cities Institute.
Nairobi County currently has the highest burden of people living with HIV in Kenya with estimated 167,446 residents living with HIV in the city and 12,779 being children less than 14 years of age (Kenya HIV Estimates Report, 2020). It is estimated that 4,446 new infection occurred in the city in 2020 with adolescents and young people contributing 1,475 (33%) of all new infections (Kenya HIV Estimates Report 2020). Notably, in the last two decades NCC has consistently recorded decreasing HIV prevalence rates from 24.6% in 1995, to 14.4% in 2001, to 8% in 2013, 6.1% in 2017 and down to 5.2% by the end of 2020.
As a capital city, Nairobi hosts highly mobile populations with in-and-out population flows due to internal migration and refugees (external migration notwithstanding).
The County also features factors that put people at increased risk of contracting HIV particularly among key populations (KPs) and adolescents and young people (AYP) particularly young girls and these include rapid urbanization, high levels of poverty in ever-growing informal settlements, and lingering stigma and discrimination leading to constraints in accessing health services by these populations.
”As outlined in the Kenya AIDS Strategic Framework II 2020/2021 – 2024/2025 and captured in County AIDS Implementation Plan 2020/2021 – 2024/2025 (CAIP), the county is committed to achieving the 95-95-95 targets by the year 2022 and to end the HIV epidemic by 2030.” Dr. Ouma Oluga, NMS Health Director said while receiving the award.
Dr. Oluga applauded the thousands of health workers working in NMS hospitals and the leadership particularly Director General of NMS Lt. Gen Mohamed Abdala Badi for creating the environment of excellence.
NMS has been able to construct and put in operation 23 aerial hospitals in the city making accessibility of healthy services to many easier as compared to the previous administrations that suffocated public hospitals such as Kenyatta National Hospital that is currently decongested thanks to the expansion of supplementary hospitals.
The award is unique as Nairobi becomes the first African city to be feted with the prestigious award.
Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) Health Directorate will be awarded tomorrow (October 21st) by the Fast Track Cities Institute jointly with The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) for exemplary performance in HIV/AIDS care especially in the areas of providing access to testing, enrolling those tested on treatment and ensuring full vital suppression for those on treatment.
Dr. José M. Zuniga the President of Fast-Track Cities says that since joining the network in 2014, Nairobi City-County, in partnership with local, national, and international stakeholders, has made steady progress towards the aim of ending its HIV epidemic by 2030.
“Through its “Nairobi City-County HIV & AIDS Strategic Plan,” and innovative programming, Nairobi City-County has been successfully closing the gaps between HIV diagnoses and treatment initiation with antiretroviral therapy, as well as creating enabling environments for viral suppression. Equally impressive are efforts advanced in partnership with civil society to reach vulnerable population, through programming that attempts to address persistent HIV and intersectional stigma.” Dr. Jose said.
The award is the first of its kind to an African City with Nairobi taking lead.
Dr. Ouma Oluga, Director, Health Services, NMS will be presented with the ‘Circle of Excellence Award’ for Nairobi by the network’s President Dr. Jose before addressing the world in a ceremony that will take place in Lisbon, Portugal.
After President Uhuru Kenyatta’s emanation to power in 2013, his appointments to strategic positions in government parastatals have revolved around key figures from military and Intelligence service.
Some of the senior civil offices occupied by military or intelligence service Uhuru’s favorite men include the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC), Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), Financial Reporting Centre (FRC), National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA), Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) and the Kenya Coast Guard Service (KCGS).
Military.
1. Worst of All
KWS Boss John Waweru
KWS well-connected Director General of Kenya Wildlife Service Brigadier (Rtd) John Waweru was also a direct appointee of President Uhuru Kenyatta. Waweru was appointed to this position on March 13, 2019.
The rot at KWS is so deep that when State House instituted secret audit which exposed poor leadership, costly inefficiencies and capture of board by a section of management led DG Waweru and his loyal right-hand -men — Edwin Wanyonyi; the Deputy Director Strategy & Change, HOD Procurement Mr Wambua and HOD- Roads Mr Eng Walter Ochieng.
Gripping KWS’s centralised procurement system; the Waweru’s cartel hijacked the operations of the KWS Tender Evaluation Committee which openly demanded a ten percent standard kickback from tenderpreneurs who sought business from the state corporation that turns-over approximately Sh8 billion p a.
The four senior staff had been linked to corrupt dealings at KWS through phone and bank records as well as an intricate investigation into their social circles.
Waweru micromanages Road Maintenance Tenders (KWS receives substantial cash injection from the Kenya Roads Board for maintenance of roads within national parks and game reserves) with Engineer Ochieng who had developed a list of preferred contractors and suppliers most of whom the audit revealed were proxy companies they had shares in through relatives and associates.
The tenders were sub-divided and evenly distributed to the preferred suppliers. The DG Waweru who also acts as Corporation Secretary at Board level often blackmails Board members in the name of the President hence placed figureheads in all the main three board committees of finance, conservation and audit rendering all internal controls his tools of manipulation like in a military Barack.
In one controversial incident, Waweru managed to persuade the Board sanction the contract to build a new luxury residence inside the serene Nairobi National Park for himself as the Director General at the cost of Sh31 million.
This particular tender was awarded to a waste collection company suspected to be linked to the DG by proxy and one that has no experience in construction of buildings nor architecture nor design.
He’s also been alleged to be a womanizer “Even worse are an open secret that he has relationships with various women at KWS including the Head of Legal and Head of Security.“ Kenyan Report blog exposed. The state of affairs at KWS deteriorated so bad that disenchanted staff resorted to colluding with poachers thereby undermining wildlife conservation which is a core mandate of the KWS.
Confidential documents where the KWS employees were being forced to sign the trash documents in order to commit and agree that they won’t leak any information to the public in a bid to contain the crisis.
‘An employee shall not, under any circumstances, communicate with the media either in writing or by granting interview and making statements on matters affecting the Service programs or policies without the specific authority of the Director General. Where such authority has been obtained, the employee shall communicate with the press through the respective Divisional Head’, part of the new code of conduct stated.
‘Consequently, attached herewith please find an extract of the Service Code of Conduct to be signed by every employee under your jurisdiction. After signing, a copy is to be returned to this Headquarters for record purpose while the employee shall retain the original for reference’, the letter from Waweru stated.
2. Worst
Gordon Kihalangwa
In August 2014, Kenyatta appointed Retired Major-General Gordon Kihalangwa to fix the Immigration Department following demonstrated concerns over Kenya’s porous borders and their contribution to increased terror attacks in the country.
Kihalangwa retired from the military in 2013 after serving in major positions including Head of the Military Police and Assistant Chief of Defence Forces. He was appointed to replace Jane Waikenda who had served as a diplomat and was later posted to Kenya’s embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.
His appointment to fix the Immigration department later turned out to be a looting spree exercise with Passports scandal that was unearthed by then Auditor General Ouko. The department couldn’t account for missing 1.4 billion Kshs. Immigration department instead have worsened the corruption menace in the country under the military man’s watch. Later transferred to Ministry of Defense as PS and apparently Public works PS.
3. Worse
Julius Karangi
In June 2016, Kenyatta appointed former Chief of Defence Forces Joseph Karangi as the chairman at the Kenya Airports Authority before re-appointing him as a non-executive chairman to the board of the National Hospital Insurance Fund NHIF and now Chairman of National Social Security Fund (NSSF) which has been emtanglement bedrock for tenderprenuers cartels.
The looting in NSSF at one point allegedly led to a heated engagement between the the Rtd. General with President Kenyatta who at one time during the board’s zoom meeting stormed in and directed Chairman Karangi to make certain tender transactions to his (President) prefered firm to stabilise his housing agenda. A move that made Karangi furious and opted out of the meeting.
While at KAA, Karangi was ousted after influencing the supply of faulty scrutiny security machines using Magnate Ventures a company owned by a Kikuyu tycoon Stanley Kinyanjui that is currently under investigations. Karangi used his office also to oust the Jimmy Wanjigi affiliated firm that had been awarded the tender and had to be transfered before hell broke loose into public domain.
4.
George Nyamoko
In October 2018, Maj (Rtd) George Nyamoko, was picked by Kenyatta and given the role of heading the Kenya Maritime Authority as the Director-General. Nyamoko replaced Nancy Karigithu, a maritime lawyer and graduate of the University of Nairobi who had led the maritime authority in an acting capacity.
But after 2 years in the civilian office since 2018, Nyamoko resigned after scandalous construction of the Sh1.8 billion 15-storey KMA complex in Mbaraki area.
5. Worst
Capt. Gilbert Kibe
Captain Gilbert Kibe who also served at the military was appointed the Director General at the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority. Before his appointment, Captain Kibe was serving at the Kenya Airforce as a trained pilot who had overseas training in military warfare.
Kibe’s incompetence is exemplified by the collapse of Eagle Aviation, a Mombasa based
operator he co-owned and managed with Kiran Patel. The airline run into
turbulence and wound up in 2003. Another insolvent firm Kibe co-owned and managed with Charles Muthama is Aero Kenya which collapsed in 2010.
In his tenure as the Director General of KCAA he has been accused of favoring specific aircrafts and isolating specific other ones being that he also owns an aviation school within Wilson airport. He has allegedly been working to the advantage of Jetways and Skyward which have cargo aircraft. And prior to which he operated LET 410 aircraft that transported miraa to Somalia and other destinations prior to his appointment as the DG.
Other operators; Bush Air, Rudufu, Buff Air, Capital Air, Freedom Airlines and Silverstone operate Fokker 50 aircraft felt the pinch.
He employed his concubines Sheila Kemunto and Praktisha Patel and gave them high ranking positions in the Licensing Department and Air Worthiness Inspection, lucrative positions.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, an employee who works under said: ‘Kibe has always been more focused on clamping down on air operators rather than improving the
environment in which they operate.He’s not tried anything innovative or to re-brand or do anything different.’
The Auditor General raised red flags on payment of millions of shillings irregularly paid to Kibe as subsistence allowance for several months raising serious queries on the agency’s spending and the director general’s overseas travels. Kibe clocked millions of frequent flier miles and in the process made a fortune in per diem payments over and above his own perks leading the Auditor General to question the deals.
Under his watch in 2019, tender scandal for Provision of Medical Insurance Cover For Staff (KCAA-019-2019-2020)
The letter dated 22nd November, 2019, adressed to the Manding Dorector of KCAA Gilbert Kibe, copied to Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA), Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), Office of the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Ethics & Anti- Corruption Commission (EACC), Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPOA), and Ministry of Transport.
“It has come to our attention that the procurement process on the referenced tender is a mockery of the bona fide gesture on the part of the majority of the bidders who diligently go about their businesses justly and in accordance with the laws of this land. More disturbing is the fact that the process has been under the supervision of one of the bidders thus further camouflaged by guising as an innocent participant in the process, whilst in cahoots with members of staff at the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority with the intention, will or craft to lure other participants and the general public that the same is a free and fair process.
We are at pains to understand why the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority members of staff would elect to ignore the principles of our Constitution as espoused under Article 10 of the Constitution on good governance, integrity, transparency and accountability. Prior to the release of the tender document, Mr. Urbanus Muthama, an insurance agent affiliated to Jubilee Insurance Company , assisted in the drafting and finalization of the mandatory requirements listed on the published tender document. Resultantly, the tender document suits the interests of Jubilee Insurance Company of Kenya, more particular as set out under requirement No. 13 of the Mandatory Requirements listed on the tender document. It is noteworthy that currently, only Jubilee Insurance Company of Kenya meets the threshold, hence no real bidding.
The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority is an entity well bound by Article 73 of the Constitution which advances objectivity and impartiality in decision making, and in ensuring that decisions are not influenced by nepotism, favouritism, other improper motives or corrupt practices. In blatant disrespect to these provision of the law, a meeting was held in November, 2019 at Panari Hotel along Mombasa Road, attended by Kenya Civil Aviation Authority Human Resource Manager, Martin Kivui, representatives from Jubilee Insurance Company of Kenya Limited and the insurance company’s agent, Mr. Urbanus Muthama, among others. The subject of the meeting was proposition of a ‘kick-back’ amounting to Kshs. 48’000’000/- to Kenya Civil Aviation Authority officials should the tender be awarded to Jubilee Insurance Company of Kenya Limited.
Further Section 44 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act prohibits an individual from receiving or soliciting or agreeing to receiving or soliciting a benefit borne out of a bidding exercise. Moreover, Section 46 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act cautions against a person using his office to improperly confer a benefit on himself or anyone else. In addition to these, Section 176 of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act requires a person not to unduly influence or exert pressure on any member of an opening committee evaluation committee or on any employee or agent of a procuring entity to take a particular action which favours or tends to favour a particular tenderer, neither to inappropriately influence tender evaluations and not to commit a fraudulent act. In conclusion, Section 204B of the Insurance Act prohibits a licensed person from knowingly and willfully assisting, conspiring with, or urges any person to violate the law or for any person who due to such assistance, conspiracy or urging by the said person, knowingly or willfully benefits from the proceeds derived from the use of fraud.
Based on these happenings and the further convoluted step by way of the addendum to the tender, it is our hope as law abiding citizens of this country, that your office would address the issue with the force that it deserves. The same is a clear violation of the Kenyan laws as the exercise is marred with corrupt practices by members who are entrusted to govern public funds. It is noteworthy that there is great effort by mandated bodies to rid the country of such practices and as such this exercise should be subjected to their scrutiny to prevent further graft.
We look forward to your urgent and timely action in order to arrest the fruition of these machinations.
Yours Sincerely,
Interested party.”
Good
Cyrus Oguna
1. In May 2019, former KDF spokesman Colonel Cyrus Oguna was appointed as the government spokesman replacing Eric Kiraithe who was transferred to the Airports security department. He’s performance in our scope iPad not been with marred and well in defending the government.
Major Gen. Badi
2. NMS Director General Badi ‘airman Badi’, whom prior to President’s appointment was a senior directing staff at (National Defense College) NDC. Before his elevation to the NDC portfolio, Badi was the Moi Air Base Commander. NMS has made tremendous strides in improving Nairobi and our rating is based in comparison to the previous regime of Sonko which was flooded with corruption accusations, baseless wrangles, cartel wars and minimal service delivery.
Others who served in the military and were appointed in various bodies include NTSA Chairman Lt Gen (Rtd) Jackson Waweru, Kenya Railways Corporation Chairman Gen (Rtd) Jeremiah Kianga, KPA Chairman Gen (Rtd) Joseph Kibwana, Kenya’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia Rateng’ Odinga Ogega, who was by the time of his deployment early last year the Deputy Commandant (Civilian) at NDC and Director-General for Immigration Alexander Muteshi.
Spies
All good
Noordin Haji
1. In March 2018, the president appointed Noordin Haji as the Director of Public Prosecutions. Prior to his appointment, Haji worked at the National Intelligence Service (NIS) as the deputy director of investigations. Haji replaced Keriako Tobiko, a University of Cambridge law graduate who is now serving as the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Environment.
Under Haji, Kenya has seen prosecution of high voltage corruption cases, leaders brought to book as Migori Governor Obado who’s currently facing murder charges.
2.
Twalib Mbaruk
In August 2018, Twalib Mbarak who also served at the National Intelligence Service was appointed to head the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC). EACC has also had its probably the best form under Mbaruk and we’ve seen the mighty being brought to books even if it’s not the best but the credits are given where due.
3. Alexander Muteshi, who earlier worked as the NIS director of counter-terrorism was also appointed as the director of Immigration Services in July 2018.
Muteshi replaced retired Major-General Gordon Kihaangwa who was appointed as the principal secretary in the Ministry of Defence inSeptember 2019.
