Sifuna questions Sakaja over transfer of functions to Ruto, warns against clawback
By Kenneth Mwenda, February 17, 2026Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has expressed surprise over a planned signing ceremony at State House, which will formalise a cooperation agreement between the National Government and Nairobi City County Government.
Taking to X on Tuesday, 17 February 2026, the senator questioned the move and stressed the need to follow constitutional procedures.
“The Governor of Nairobi assured us he wasn’t transferring any functions to the National Government. I’m surprised to see a scheduled ‘signing ceremony’ at State House this afternoon,” Sifuna posted.
“As we await to see the actual thing, I remind @SakajaJohnson to be mindful of the provisions of the Constitution and the need for involvement of the electorate and the leadership of Nairobi prior to making such decisions. Any unconstitutional clawback to devolution shall be strenuously resisted. A comprehensive statement shall follow.”
The media invite, issued by the Executive Office of the President, confirms the ceremony. It states that the event will take place at 3 pm at State House, Nairobi, and media crews were instructed to contact for clearance.
Sifuna’s reaction comes just days after Governor Johnson Sakaja strongly denied any plans to transfer county functions.
“Honourable Members, I honour the mandate given to me by the people of Nairobi. They entrusted me with constitutional authority, and I will not betray that trust. In 2020, Nairobi got into a misadventure — the NMS experience left the county with a Ksh16 billion pending-bills burden. We shall not transfer any county functions,” Sakaja said during his State of the County Address on February 11, at the Nairobi County Assembly.
He added:
“The functions bestowed upon us by the Constitution will remain county functions. We shall not transfer them. Nairobi’s position as the capital city makes intergovernmental collaboration both inevitable and necessary, but not at the expense of devolution.”
Collaboration without surrendering authority
Sakaja described past claims as a “misadventure” and emphasised that collaboration with the national government can deliver results without surrendering authority. He highlighted ongoing projects such as new classrooms, road works by KURA and KeRRA, and a joint programme on cleanliness, roads, and water.
He also pointed to a waste-processing facility in Ruai which will convert refuse into fertiliser and energy.
National support is set to cover urban roads, sewerage, water supply, public lighting, and the completion of stalled NMS projects. Sakaja said the framework agreed with President William Ruto allows shared responsibility without ceding control to the national government.
Reports indicate that the agreement covers shared responsibility for services such as garbage collection, road maintenance, and water supply, aiming to address financing gaps and improve service delivery. Some sources suggest the deal could give the national government a stronger role in key areas, while others insist it is purely collaborative.
The outcome of the 3 pm ceremony is likely to clarify the nature of the deal.