A three-judge bench of the High Court in Nairobi confirmed Anne Kananu’s appointment as Nairobi Governor, stating she had been vetted in accordance with the law.
Kananu, who was vetted, authorized, and inaugurated in in less than a day, was barred from taking over the governorship left vacant by Mike Sonko.
This marked the start of a barrage of legal proceedings against her ascension to the office. One of which, being that the criminology expert was illegally vetted by Members of the County Assembly.
The panel, comprising of Justices Said Chitembwe, Weldon Korir, and Wilfrida Okwany, ruled that MCAs followed due procedure while evaluating Kananu, who was first nominated by Sonko.
“It is our finding that the nomination, vetting, approval and swearing-in of Anne Kananu as the Deputy Governor was constitutional, and complied with applicable laws,” said Lady Justice Okwany.
Grass to grace
Anne Kananu, the lady at the center of the next-Nairobi-governor controversy, was hardly a familiar name when impeached Governor Mike Sonko selected her as his deputy governor in early 2020.
Kananu was the head officer of the Nairobi County Disaster and Emergency Management Department before Sonko saw her as a candidate for the deputy governor’s post.
Her nomination was however challenged by a private citizen, and remained a bone of contention for the better part of Sonko’s last months in power.
Come December 2020, Sonko is impeached, leaving behind a vacant seat at the City Hall.
As by-election drums begun to beat, the private citizen withdrew a petition challenging her ascension to the top.
Her swearing-in ceremony that would have been on January 15 was effectively halted, and a by-election scheduled for February 18 to replace Sonko.
However, legal proceedings overtook events of the elections, ruling the IEBC out of mandate for the election dates had passed.
Since her swearing in, Ann Kananu has been supporting Executive institutions such as the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) in carrying out its mandate.
Breaking the Glass Ceiling,
After her swearing in, she will succeed Margaret Kenyatta, who died on April 5, 2017, as Nairobi’s second leader.
Margaret, who was born on February 16, 1928, was elected deputy mayor of Nairobi in 1969. She served as mayor for two terms from 1970 to 1976. She was the first African woman to be elected as Nairobi’s mayor.
So far, Ann Kananu has played well with the institution of the NMS, that facilitates key functions of the county government.
However, pending the termination of the NMS contract in 2022, all eyes are on the new governor as to restor order at City Hall.
The former member of the Christian Union and the most disciplined student at Dedan Kimathi University was married to Philip Njiru until he perished in a traffic accident at Devki, Athi River.
