County governments’ threat to paralyse operations in devolved units over the delayed Sh78.03 billion County Equitable Share funds raise fundamental political, constitutional and development questions.

Indeed, this contentious matter that lies at the heart of the Constitution is proving to be a major test of the revamped broad-based government of President William Ruto and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga.

Governors are also demanding that the national government reinstate Sh38.4 billion it claims the National Treasury has diverted from the Development Partners Conditional Grants through the County Government Additional Allocation Bill, 2025.

In their demands, county governments have sharply indicted the Kenya Kwanza administration on its handling of and commitment to one of the cardinal pillars of the 2010 Constitution – devolution and revenue allocation – since it assumed power.

However, blame has now shifted from Kenya Kwanza alone, to a shared responsibility with its new partners from Raila’s ODM. John Mbadi, the man who once vilified Ruto’s government from other opposition benches as minority leader, is now the National Treasury and Economic Planning Cabinet Secretary.

After condemning Kenya Kwanza to “carry its own skunk” over its unpopular economic measures, including the poisoned Finance Bill, 2024 that Ruto hastily withdrew following the devastating Gen Z protests, Mbadi now has to cuddle the same skunk.

As Treasury CS, he has to midwife the country’s revenues and placate seething governors demanding rightful constitutional allocations while shouldering their critics’ accusations of corruption and poor delivery of development and basic services.

With their latest shutdown threat preceding perennial altercations with the Treasury, the Controller of Budget, Auditor-General, and the Commissioner for Revenue Allocation, governors have now dropped this hot potato on the national government’s lap.

While Ruto can heave a sigh of relief that he has a punching bag partner to absorb hard-hitting blows, Raila cannot afford such luxury, since he has to placate his disgruntled traditional radical pro-democracy opposition base and the Gen Z.

Probably giving him a chance to see how his new union with Ruto pans out, they are however still bitter and sulking from a perceived feeling of abandonment at their prime “hour of need” after his shock “handshake” and reunion with his political archrival.

Ironically, governors’ impasse with the national government may provide a window of opportunity for Raila to redeem himself with a segment of this disgruntled population of Kenyans.

Touted as the “father of devolution”, a prominent activist in the birth of the 2010 Constitution that decentralised power and services from the centre to the grassroots, Raila holds a key to unlock the funds deadlock.

In November last year, the ODM leader accused members of the National Assembly of plotting a power grab through the Division of Revenue Amendment Bill, which he said had caused a rift between the Senate and the National Assembly.

He claimed MPs wanted to implement and oversee projects, a violation of the Constitution, the structure of governance and a “betrayal of the people”. He told MPs to stick to responsibilities assigned to them by the Constitution, saying it was unfair that governors were being blamed for lack of development in their counties.

With ODM MPs now leading powerful committees following a purge in Parliament, as a former party chairman juggles the Treasury docket, and governors across the political divide united, Raila may just achieve the first victory of his audacious political gamble.

— The writer comments on constitutional affairs; albertoleny@gmail.com-