The Supreme Court ruled that Nairobi County Governor Johnson Sakaja must pay the defunct City Council’s Ksh60 billion debt incurred in the previous regime.
A five-judge bench ruled on Friday, July 14, that Sakaja was required by law to seek an advisory opinion from Attorney General Justin Muturi before settling pending bills.
Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu and Justices Mohammed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, Njoki Ndung’u, and William Ouko added that the Intergovernmental Relations Act requires the county government to settle the debt within a framework drawn up by the State Law Office.
“The outstanding legal debt during the transition from the National Government to the devolved government, as provided under Sections 4 and 7 of the Transition to Devolved Government Act, should have been absorbed by the National Government and not the County Government,” read part of the Judgement.
The Nairobi County Government argued in the Supreme Court that the outstanding legal debt incurred during the start of devolution should have been absorbed by the National Government.
Sakaja’s administration also claimed that the transfer of functions from the County Government to the National Government, as stipulated in the Deed of Transfer dated February 25, 2020, should have included the transfer of liabilities, including the Ksh60 billion in legal debt.
Former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko claimed that he was coerced into signing the deed that resulted in the formation of the now-defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services.
The Supreme Court was also asked to rule on whether county accounting officers should be held personally liable for the county government’s failure to comply with orders requiring payment of damages and legal debts.
Attorney General Justin Muturi defended the State, claiming that the legal framework had long been established and enforced.
DCJ Mwilu and her colleagues, on the other hand, dismissed the prayer seeking to incriminate the accounting officers, noting that the argument presented was insubstantial.
