Gakuya: Ruto-Sakaja pact is a loophole for corruption
By Ndiritu Wanjiru, February 18, 2026Embakasi North Member of Parliament James Gakuya has slammed the pact between the county government of Nairobi and the national government, terming it a loophole for the two levels of government to engage in corruption and embezzlement of public funds.
Speaking in a morning interview at Kameme TV on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, Gakuya said that the Nairobi County government has a planned budget for the roles detailed in the deal with the national government. Gakuya raised a concern about the accountability of the budget allocation of the county government of Nairobi.
“What is the role of the county government in Nairobi County? This is definitely a joint venture as we had in the NMS. There is no difference between the pact and the NMS. The only difference is that the staff have just remained under the county government. This is a way of weakening the county government of Nairobi,” Gakuya said.
“This is one way of money laundering because the county government had planned on street lighting, garbage collection and water management, among other services, and we have not been told about the reallocation of the funds that had been allocated to these projects,” Gakuya added.
The lawmaker who is eying the Nairobi County gubernatorial seat in 2027 has also added that the national government did not explain the source of the 80 billion to be used in the deal.
Ruto-Sakaja deal criticised for illegalities
Sentiments from the lawmaker have come hours after Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja signed a cooperation agreement with President William Ruto at State House, Nairobi.
Among the areas of collaboration are refuse management, county roads, markets, housing, and water, although constitutionally, the roles are stipulated as core county mandates under the Fourth Schedule. The pact has received criticism because no transfer of the mandates has been initiated.
Gakuya has called on the office of the Auditor General to be steadfast in the utilisation of resources in the county government of Nairobi and the funds allocated in the pact to ensure accountability in the two levels of government, as the deal is set to be implemented.