Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has launched a sharp attack on the cooperation agreement signed between the national government and the Nairobi City County Government, warning that it undermines the Constitution and risks reversing devolution.
Speaking a day after the deal was signed at State House by President William Ruto and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, Sifuna said the process ignored the public and sidelined the Senate, despite its constitutional duty to protect county governments.
“This is not cooperation. It is a takeover,” he said.
Sifuna said neither his office nor Nairobi residents were consulted before the agreement was signed. He pointed out that the document itself admits there was no public participation before approval.
He described plans to conduct public participation after the signing as “an insult to the people of Nairobi.”
“You cannot decide first and ask people to agree later,” he said, adding that the 14-day window proposed for consultations was unrealistic and meaningless.
The senator raised concern over the steering committee set up to run the agreement, saying it is dominated by national government appointees.
Out of the 12 members, two-thirds come from the national government, which Sifuna says places the governor under the control of the Prime Cabinet Secretary.
“That makes the governor a junior partner in his own county,” he said.
Sifuna said the agreement is a continuation of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) model, which he claims left the county with Sh16 billion in unpaid bills.
He added that the Senate had already ruled that pending NMS bills should be settled by the national government.
“Thousands of contractors are still waiting for their money,” he said.
Sifuna dismissed claims that the national government is injecting Sh80 billion into Nairobi, saying the figure is misleading.
According to him, the national government owes Nairobi more than Sh100 billion in unpaid rates and other obligations.
He also accused national road agencies of illegally retaining county functions, particularly road construction and maintenance.
Sifuna recalled that opposition leader Raila Odinga had previously called for the dissolution of KURA and KeRRA, a position included in a 2025 agreement with President Ruto.
