Kenneth Lusaka the current speaker of the Kenyan Senate has dismissed a petition by Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja to discuss the state of Nairobi affairs following Nairobi’s Governor Mike Sonko’s misgivings.
Sakaja wanted the Senate Speaker to call for a special meeting to discuss how operations will be carried out since as it stands the county has no acting governor neither does it have a deputy.
Lusaka in retaliation said that Sakaja could not compel him to call for a special meeting since as it is written in the constitution only the senate’s Majority or Minority leaders can call for a special meeting backed up by votes from 15 other senators.
“I have spoken to Senators Kipchumba Murkomen and James Orengo asking them to discuss amongst themselves on the issues brought forward by Sakaja and decide whether we should have a special meeting or not,” Lusaka said in an interview with Citizen Tv.
Mustakabali wa Nairobi: Spika wa bunge la Seneti Ken Lusaka anasema hakuna kikao cha dharura.
Asema seneta Johnson Sakaja hana uwezo kisheria kumtaka aitishe kikao.
Sakaja alitaka kikao maalum cha kuzungumzia mustakabali wa Nairobi #NipasheWikendi pic.twitter.com/gWFjbSd5vK
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) December 13, 2019
He also insisted that he was not dismissing the issues that the Nairobi Senator was raising but, he was bound by the standing orders that help in the smooth running of the senate.
Sonko on Friday maintained there was no leadership vacuum at the county government even as reports emerged that all county accounts had been frozen.
Through his director of communications Elkana Jacob, he sought to allay fears of a crisis, saying he was still in charge and there are other officeholders, including the acting county secretary, CECs and chief officers.
“Why are you guys writing about a crisis at City Hall? There is one thing you journalists do not understand; that this is pure politics. The magistrate only said he was pronouncing himself on the corruption issue and not on the governor stepping aside,” he said.
Sonko’s lawyer George Kithi echoed the view, saying the county boss was only barred from his City Hall office but not from exercising duties coming with his position as the governor, as he had not been removed from the position.