Sakaja Denies Handing Nairobi Functions to State After State House Meeting with Ruto

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has dismissed claims that his administration has ceded key county functions to the National Government following a high-level meeting with President William Ruto at State House.

Speculation of a fresh deed of transfer, similar to the 2020 arrangement that birthed the Nairobi Metropolitan Services, gained traction this week after reports suggested that departments such as roads, garbage collection and water services had been handed over.

“There is no transfer of any functions,” Sakaja said on Wednesday morning, terming the reports false. In a subsequent social media post, he added: “Fake news. No functions or roles ceded.”

Despite the categorical denial, it has emerged that the governor, accompanied by all County Executive Committee members, met President Ruto at State House on Tuesday. No official communiqué was issued after the meeting, and the exact timing remains undisclosed, but sources familiar with the discussions say the future of the capital dominated the agenda.

A senior City Hall official, who sought anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the President pressed the county leadership for progress reports in critical sectors, particularly roads and waste management.

Nairobi County received Sh2.1 billion in 2025 earmarked for road improvements. According to the source, the President sought clarity on delivery timelines and the scope of completed works.

The push for accelerated upgrades is understood to be linked to preparations for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which Kenya will co-host with Uganda and Tanzania.

The meeting is said to have resolved that both levels of government would continue working in tandem, with an ambitious proposal that each Member of County Assembly will see at least one kilometre of tarmac road constructed in their respective wards.

Waste management also featured prominently. Discussions reportedly touched on Green Nairobi Company Limited, an entity expected to play a central role in garbage collection and city cleanliness under a long-term arrangement believed to span 25 years.

Sakaja has previously defended the model as a structural overhaul of the city’s waste ecosystem. In an earlier television interview, he argued that the current system incentivises volume rather than cleanliness. He has also pledged the establishment of a 45-megawatt waste-to-energy plant in Dandora, saying the project would transform refuse management while generating electricity.

President Ruto and Sakaja in a past event.

President Ruto has in recent months intensified his public pronouncements on Nairobi’s transformation. In October last year, he declared that the capital “cannot continue to be a city in filth,” signalling imminent agreements with private sector players to modernise waste management. He has repeatedly pledged national resources to improve roads, lighting and drainage, framing Nairobi as central to Kenya’s global image.

In July, the President announced a 70-kilometre road construction plan within the city, promising completion of major stretches in Embakasi by year’s end. Earlier this month, he said the National Government, in collaboration with the county, would from April roll out structured garbage management services, alongside major investments in water supply, informal settlement upgrades and electricity connectivity.

The renewed coordination has revived memories of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services, which in 2020 assumed control of four key county functions following a deed of transfer signed between former Governor Mike Sonko and the National Government. The arrangement, later wound up, fundamentally altered the governance structure of the capital and remains politically sensitive.

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna questioned whether any constitutional process had been initiated this time. Under Article 187 of the Constitution, a transfer of functions between levels of government requires a formal agreement and approval by the relevant legislative bodies. “Constitutionally, there has to be a deed of transfer of functions. It has to be approved by the county assembly. I have seen neither,” Sifuna said.

While Sakaja maintains that no such process is underway, the optics of a full county cabinet meeting at State House and the deepening joint planning on roads, waste, water and housing underscore an increasingly central role for the National Government in shaping Nairobi’s trajectory.

With AFCON 2027 on the horizon and mounting public pressure over traffic congestion, garbage backlogs and infrastructure strain, the capital has become a test case for intergovernmental cooperation. Sakaja is expected to address the County Assembly later today, where attention will focus on whether he offers further details on what transpired behind closed doors at State House.