- Impeccable sources revealed that Governor Sakaja wants some slots allocated to MCAs as a reward towards their supporters who campaigned for them in the last elections while DG Njoroge has insisted on due diligence to ensure only those who merit are employed and to give Kenyans equal opportunity, this is said to have been opposed by both Governor Sakaja and the MCAs
- The Public Service Board whose mandate is to advertise, shortlist, interview and recruit staff on behalf of the executive has been caught in the mix and this has led to the suspension of shortlisting of candidates. Sources divulged to us that the positions were advertised on 3rd March 2023 with the application deadline set for 13th March 2023 where a total of 3,168 positions were declared vacant and up for grab
- In the run-up to the 2022 elections, Mr Sakaja went public declaring that his deputy will be a County Executive Committee Member (CECM) in charge of Trade. However, when he unveiled his cabinet, Mr Muchiri’s name was not mentioned as CECM, instead the governor named Rosemary Kariuki as CECM for Business and Hustle Opportunities which is similar to the docket of Trade
By The Weekly Vision
A serious fallout is looming at Nairobi City County between Governor Johnson Sakaja alongside members of the County Assembly on one hand against his deputy Njoroge Muchiri. Sources well-versed with the goings on at City Hall revealed to The Weekly Vision that the bone of contention is the ongoing recruitment of over 3,000 members of staff. The process has since stalled due to the failure of the top guns at City Hall to agree on how to share the slots.
The Public Service Board whose mandate is to advertise, shortlist, interview and recruit staff on behalf of the executive has been caught in the mix and this has led to the suspension of the excise. Sources divulged to us that the positions were advertised on 3rd March 2023 with the application deadline set for 13th March 2023 where a total of 3,168 positions were declared vacant and up for grabs.
Following the expiry of the deadline, the County Public Service Board was expected to embark on shortlisting of candidates but that has been suspended as the executive and the MCAs failed to agree on how to share some of the slots. It is claimed that the board is under instructions to suspend the whole process of shortlisting until instructed otherwise by the governor.
Impeccable sources revealed that Governor Sakaja wants some slots allocated to MCAs as a reward to their supporters who campaigned for them in the last elections while DG Njoroge has insisted on due diligence to ensure only those who merit are employed and to give Kenyans equal opportunity, this is said to have been opposed by both Governor Sakaja and the MCAs.
This is not the first time such a scenario is happening. It will be a repeat of what former Governor Mike Sonko did during his tenure when MCAs were allocated 10 slots each to recruit people of their choice to work under the environment programme of cleaning, planting trees and grass and opening up clogged drainage systems. It is being whispered that Governor Sakaja is doing anything within his powers to ensure that the majority of MCAs both from Kenya Kwanza and Azimio are in his camp to avoid any threats of impeachment.
Sources say Mr Njoroge Muchiri was not Sakaja’s choice for a running mate but President Ruto’s in order to accommodate the Mount Kenya voters and counter Azimio’s candidate Polycarp Igathe. Sakaja knows so well that should he give his DG space, he will be preparing grounds to challenge him in 2027 considering word doing rounds that Deputy President Rigathi Gachagwa has been secretly grooming Njoroge to be the next Nairobi Governor
The governor is also said to be focused on the county budget for 2023/2024 and needs MCAs from across the political divide to support it. It is against such fears that he is said to have proposed that MCAs be allocated slots to the chagrin of his deputy. Sources say the MCAs are demanding 2,000 slots out of the 3,000 slots available and this is the main bone of contention between the governor and his deputy. Whereas Governor Sakaja is said to have bowed to pressure to allocate the positions to MCas, his Deputy see it as being arm-twisted by the MCAs and denying the right candidates an opportunity to get jobs. Other positions which had been advertised and yet to be filled include that of Clerical Officers (37 positions), Environment Officers (97 positions) and Interns (34 positions).
It has also been whispered that all has not been well between the two top county bosses, with the DG having been reduced to a flower girl, having no assigned duties. In the run-up to the 2022 elections, Mr Sakaja went public declaring that his deputy will be a county Executive Committee member (CECM) in charge of Trade, however when he unveiled his cabinet, Mr Muchiri’s name was not mentioned as CECM, instead, the governor named Rosemary Kariuki as CECM for Business and Hustle Opportunities which is similar to the docket of Trade. To appease Mr Muchiri and to cover up for reneging on his earlier promise, governor Sakaja announced that holders of CEC positions in the offices of Boroughs Administration and Personnel and Business and Hustler Opportunities will directly report to Mr James Muchiri.
To many, this was only to appease his deputy who sources say had confided in his close allies that his boss had shortchanged him and gone against their pre-election agreement. City Hall sources divulge that even the CEC for Boroughs Administration and Personnel Ibrahim Auma and his Business and Hustler Opportunities CEC Rosemary Kariuki no longer reports to the DG but to the governor.
Article 179(6) of the County Governments Act states that “Members of a county executive committee are accountable to the county governor for the performance of their functions and exercise of their powers”. Governor Sakaja’s announcement that some CEC will report directly to the Deputy Governor was therefore unconstitutional hence the failure of the two CECs to report to the DG. Politics is also said to be playing out between Governor Sakaja and his DG. It is said that the governor is playing safe ahead of the 2027 elections knowing that his DG has gubernatorial ambitions having contested the Nyandarua nominations on the UDA ticket and lost before being nominated by then Deputy President William Ruto as Skala’s DG.
Sources say he was not Sakaja’s choice for a running mate but President Ruto’s in order to accommodate the Mount Kenya voters and counter Azimio’s candidate Polycarp Igathe. Sakaja knows so well that should he give his DG space, he will be preparing grounds to challenge him in 2027 considering word doing rounds that Deputy President Rigathi Gachagwa has been secretly grooming Njoroge to be the next Nairobi Governor.
It is also being whispered that tycoons and politicians from the Mount Kenya region have vowed that the next Nairobi Governor must be one of their own. Sakaja is said to be aware of that move and is also playing his dangerous card close to his chest. Sources close to Sakaja have divulged that if the worst comes to the worst, he may shift allegiance to Azimio in 2027 if the Mount Kenya tycoons make good their threat to kick him out.
