No media interviews without my permission, Sakaja tells officials

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has apparently had enough of his top officials leaking information whenever they give interviews to the media.

This follows a letter asking all County Executive Committee (CEC) members, chief officers and county directors to seek permission before giving interviews to the media.

The directive from Acting Nairobi County Secretary Patrick Analo, in a memo dated December 19, asks the affected officials to seek permission from the governor first.

"This is to direct all officials invited for media interviews to seek permission from H.E. the Governor before granting the media interviews," Analo said.

Accordingly, county officials have been asked to declare whether the invitation to appear before the media is in a personal capacity.

"We are aware that some officials are usually invited in their individual professional capacity," the memo reads.

While confirming the case to Nation, Mr Analo said the purpose of the directive is to ensure that the right information is given to the public and to avoid confusion.

"It is not gagging, it is just for coordination. Coordination is the opposite of confusion," Mr Nalo said, adding that the county has more than 150 services that are provided to the residents and it would be good if every officer who shows up informs the county chief so that he/she is guided on what to say about a particular department.

However, this contradicts the governor's earlier statement that he had asked his county officials to honour the media and answer questions relating to their sectors.

Recently, when the governor celebrated one year in power, he was seen in various media houses along with his CECs and COs highlighting what they've achieved.

The sudden U-turn by the governor, whose state was ranked among the worst in development spending, is not known.

The Controller of Budget's report shows that Nairobi County didn't spend a penny on development in the last quarter of the current financial year.

The media order is in contrast to what President William Ruto did when he asked his cabinet members to go out and talk to the media about the plans his government is working on.