City Hall sources divulged to The Weekly Vision that UDA-allied MCAs have been pushing Gov. Sakaja to replace the current acting County Secretary and Head of County Public Service Dr Jairus Musumba with a UDA member. Mr Musumba was appointed by the former acting Governor Benson Mutura after then-Governor Sonko was impeached. Musumba was then acting deputy director of health. His appointment was brokered by the current majority leader Hon. Imwatok. He is therefore seen as a handshake product and a close ally to Azimio
Nairobi City County Governor Johnson Sakaja has finally bowed to pressure from the Kenya Kwanza Alliance’s top brass to have individuals allied to the coalition be appointed to top county jobs. Governor Sakaja has been under a lot of pressure and criticism from the top leadership of Kenya Kwanza who allege that he has offered more jobs to individuals allied to the Azimio Coalition at the expense of the supporters from their coalition.
City Hall sources divulged to The Weekly Vision that UDA-allied MCAs have been pushing Gov. Sakaja to replace the current acting County Secretary and Head of County Public Service Dr Jairus Musumba with a UDA member. Mr Musumba was appointed by the former acting Governor Benson Mutura after then-Governor Sonko was impeached. Musumba was then acting deputy director of health. His appointment was brokered by the current majority leader Hon. Imwatok. He is therefore seen as a handshake product and a close ally to Azimio.
When Sakaja named his cabinet, Musumba was retained but due to pressure from Azimio, Sakaja never forwarded his name for vetting by the county assembly knowing that UDA allied MCAs could have rejected his appointment.
Sakaja, therefore, opted to keep him as acting CS but the pressure to drop him has since forced Sakaja to declare the position vacant and which has been advertised. City hall sources say the MCAs have vowed to kick Musumba out since he is said to have rubbed them on the wrong side.
At one point last year, he was on the spot for alleged irregular appointment of senior officers at the county’s attorney’s office in disregard for rules and procedures. It was alleged that in February 2022, Musumba unilaterally issued appointment letters for the positions of acting director of the legal affairs department and acting county solicitor, against procedures, rules and enabling laws guiding the same.
Members of the county assembly decried a worrying trend of impunity and disregard for the rule of law within the county executive through Musumba.
It is also claimed that on his appointment as acting county secretary, Musumba appointed his assistant who is a staff who was on interdiction on very serious matters which was still pending and active in court.
It is against this background that the MCAs have vowed to reject his appointment. Although Musumba is a county employee, with all the positions of Directors and Chief officers filled, it is not yet known where the governor will redeploy him. There are however rumours that he could land the position of chief officer to fill one of the three positions for which the MCAs rejected the appointees.
The County Secretary position is very influential and is the third in command at City hall. He is the Secretary to the County Executive Committee, Head of the Public Service, responsible for arranging the business and keeping minutes of the County Executive Committee, conveying the decisions of the County Executive Committee to the appropriate persons or authorities and ensuring efficient management of county resources.
