The High Court has issued orders suspending a directive by Nairobi speaker Kennedy Ng'ondi over the disbandment of the Public Accounts Committee and the Water and Sanitation Committee in the assembly.
Justice Chacha Mwita of the Milimani High Court barred Ng’ondi from reconstituting two Assembly committees pending the hearing of an application filed by two city MCAs.
"In the meantime, a conservatory order is hereby issued restraining the respondents from Implementing Speaker Ng'ondi's decision contained in the communication from the chair no.19 of 2024 dated April 17 directing the reconstitution of the Select Committee on Public Accounts and Sectoral Committee on Water and Sanitation of the Nairobi City County Assembly until June 26, 2024, or further orders of the court," Justice Mwita ordered
Utawala Ward MCA Patrick Karani approached the High Court seeking a stay of the Nairobi speaker's decision to disband the two committees on grounds that Ng’ondi was using his powers to settle political scores when he made the move.
"The Communication and the purported decision to reconstitute the Committees is illegal, unreasonable and ultra vires, as the Nairobi County Speaker does not possess the powers or mandate to order for reconstitution of committees in the manner set out in the communication as this is a usurpation of the powers exclusively reserved for the Committee on Selection and the County Assembly Parties to which individual member belongs," Karani states.
"Ng'ondi’s purported decision in the Communication is a ploy to settle personal and political scores with the applicants by disbanding and effectively removing them from the committees to which they belong, which further makes the said decision unreasonable, illegal and ultra vires," he adds.
The orders by Justice Mwita come after Justice Jairus Ngaah of the Judicial Review Division declined similar orders in a separate petition filed by Robert Alai (Kileleshwa MCA) and Redson Otieno Onyango (Ngei) challenging Ng'ondi's decision to ouster them from their respective committees.
In a communication to the assembly, Speaker Ng’ondi dissolved the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Water and Sanitation Committee.
“Dear. Members, to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency in the performance of the County Assembly and its Committees and in accordance with the provisions of Standing Order 1 and without prejudice to the provisions of Standing Order 203 and 209 respectively, I order the reconstitution of the Committee Select from Public Accounts and the Sectoral Committee. on Water and Sanitation in accordance with the Regulations,” reads the speaker’s note.
Ng’ondi did not explain the reasons for the dissolution of the committees but cited the Regulations which give him the power to dissolve the committees after a period of three years. However, not three years had passed since the formation of the county assembly.
According to documents, the MCAs claim that the process is illegal as it violates Regulations 168(2), 169(1), 171 and 172 of the Regulations on Nomination, Nomination Criteria and Approval of Committee Members.
