Senate committee overlooks Badi in city evictions probe

A committee of the Senate has described the Nairobi Metropolitan Services boss Mohamed Badi as the agent of the county of Nairobi and vowed never to give him an audience in the absence of the governor.

The Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations was forced to take the tough decision after governor Anne Kananu complained of being frustrated by the NMS which she says has never involved her in the implementation of the four functions which were transferred. 

“There is no day we will listen to NMS without you because Mr Badi is your agent. This House has the confidence that you are the governor of Nairobi. It is this House that impeached the former governor.

And it is this house that recognises you as the governor,” said Homa Bay governor Moses Kajwang who chairs the committee.

Ms Kananu had appeared before the committee to give evidence on the ongoing investigations into claims of forceful eviction of county staff from houses in Eastleigh and Pumwani areas of Nairobi.

The staff were evicted under the watchful eye of the police and NMS officers and the parcels allocated to private developers.

The Governor, who had been invited alongside Mr Badi and Police boss Hillary Mutyambai, was unable to explain or adduce documents on the ownership of the contested land.

Skipped session

She did not have any documents related to the parcel as the same were domiciled in the NMS offices. 

Land is among the transferred functions that include health, transport and public works, environment and water.

Mr Badi skipped the session for the third time to explain the evictions and the ownership of the contested parcels. He instead sent a letter to the committee claiming had been taken ill and admitted to the Karen Hospital.

Mr Mutyambai, on other hand, was fined Sh500,000 after he also failed to honour the committee’s summon for a third time. He neither sent a representative nor filed written submission to explain the police involvement in the evictions.

Ms Kananu’s revelations triggered a barrage of questions, with senators demanding to know whether she exercises powers over the transferred functions.

“I think we should treat NMS for what it is. The reality is that she is not in charge of those function that have been transferred,” said Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen. 

Murkomen added that while the governor could be in charge theoretically as captured in the constitution, the functions are being practically being run from the office of the president.

County agent

Article 187 (2) of the Constitution states that if a function is transferred from one level of government to another, the responsibility for the performance of the function or exercise of the power shall remain with the government to which it is assigned by the Fourth Schedule.

“In fact, if things were not as they are and they were as they ought to be, general Badi would never come here in person. He would have come here as a staff of governor,” she said.

Ms Kananu did not expressly state whether she oversees the functions but said he has been in constant consultation with Mr Badi on the execution of the functions.

“There is no day we will listen to NMS without the governor being present because the NMS boss is your agent. This house has the confidence that you are governor of Nairobi. It is this house that impeached the former governor. And it is this house that recognises you as the governor,” Mr Kajwang said.

The committee ordered Ms Kananu to explain where NMS has been drawing its funds to execute the projects. The 2022 Budget Policy Statement that was passed by Parliament in January contains no allocation to NMS in the 2022/23 financial year. 

Mr Kajwang said there is need for parliament to know whether there is another pot of money that NMS will draw money from to run its projects.