Nairobi News

An application seeking to quash the list of County Executive Committee (CEC) nominated by Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has been thrown out by the court.

In its ruling on Wednesday, the Labour Relations Court gave the county a green light to proceed with the vetting of its nominees.

The Association of Muslim Lawyers, and the Nubian rights forum had filed a case petitioning the governor for excluding them from his list.

In her ruling, Justice Anne Mwaure said the case was filed prematurely, adding that there was no enough evidence to indicate that they were sidelined by the governor.

The judge ruled that it was untimely to challenge the nominees who are yet to be vetted by the County Assembly.

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Governor Sakaja’s lawyer Duncan Okatch told the court that without the vetting of the CEC nominees, the case was premature.

“The nominees have to be vetted by the County Assembly and the said nominations will only become valid upon approval by the County Assembly,” Mr Okatch told the court.

Mr Okatch also told the court that the petitioners only wanted to cause conflict between religions in the County or even to create an imaginary rift between him and Nairobi Muslims.

“We even have atheists who have coalesced as an association. It may be worth noting that there were only 10 slots for the list of nominees for the position of County Executive Committee members hence it was humanly impossible to include all the 47 tribes and all the religions in Kenya,” said Mr Okatch.

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The vetting of the nominees had earlier been scheduled for November 14th to 16th but was put on hold pending the court hearing.

Nairobi Assembly Clerk Mr Edward Gichana is now expected to announce the new date for the vetting exercise.

This comes even as the assembly plans to adjourn for a long recess until February 14, 2023.

The 10 CECs who will now appear before the Assembly Select Committee on Appointment include Charles Kerich (Finance and Economic Planning), Brian Mulama (Talents, Skills, Development and Care), Patrick Mbogo (Mobility and Works), Stephen Mwangi (Buildings and Urban Planning) and Ibrahim Auma (Administration and Personnel).

The rest are Rosemary Kariuki (Hustlers and Business Opportunities), Maureen Njeri (Green Nairobi), Anastacia Mutethia (Health, Wellness and Nutrition), Susan Silantoi (Inclusivity, Public Participation and Customer Service) and Michael Gumo (Innovation and Digital Economy).

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