Two voters have moved to court seeking invalidation of the resignation of former Nairobi deputy governor Polycarp Igathe.
Simon Kokoyo and Javan Owala also want the court to declare that the executive committee of Nairobi County is not properly constituted pursuant to articles 179(2) and 179(5) of the constitution.
They argue that there are no provisions in the constitution or law for vacancy in the office of the deputy Governor and therefore the resignation of Polycarp Igathe has no effect in law and should be declared null and void.
“The constitution assumes that both the governor and the deputy are a pair during their term of office since they were elected as a package,” they argue.
They claim that a Governor and his running mate came to office through an elective process and therefore the governor cannot appoint his or her deputy incase a vacancy arises.
The voters further claim the resignation of Igathe will throw the county into a leadership crisis and the rights of its residents under article 38 will be prejudiced since the absence of the deputy governor will directly affect the functioning of the officer of the governor.
“The continuous undermining of the constitutional role of deputy governor sets a dangerous precedent to the rule of law, constitutionalism and is an upfront to the spirit of devolution in Kenya,” they said.
Kokoyo and Owala claimed that during the August 8th General Elections, Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko and Igathe publicly entered into a social contract with the residents of the Nairobi.
They argued that in the said contract Igathe was to be the technocrat and charged with management of Nairobi County administration and service delivery owing to his academic credentials, competence and sterling career in corporate management while Sonko was to be in charge of political affairs.
Igathe left office on 30th January after announcing his resignation on his Twitter early in the month.
He stated that he had failed to earn the trust of Governor Sonko to enable him manage Nairobi County.
