Katiba Institute urges Sakaja to disclose details of partnership with national govt
By Ndiritu Wanjiru, February 17, 2026Katiba Institute has written to the Nairobi County Secretary seeking clarity on the legal basis, scope, financing, agreements, and County Assembly involvement in the partnership between the county and the national government.
In a letter posted on their X handle on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, the institute has requested full information on the much-anticipated partnership between the two levels of government. Katiba Institute has said that it has written the letter in accordance with the request for public disclosure of information.
“I deserve to know: we have written to the Nairobi City County Secretary, under Article 35 of the Constitution and the Access to Information Act, to request full disclosure on the reported ‘partnership’ between the National Government and Nairobi City County in the performance of county functions. Katiba Institute is seeking clarity on its legal basis, scope, financing, agreements, and County Assembly involvement,” Katiba Institute stated.
The letter by the institute to the county secretary has come hours before an anticipated signing of a partnership between the national government and the county government of Nairobi, set to be conducted at the State House between Governor Sakaja and President Ruto.
Through a media invite issued by the Executive Office of the President, the State confirmed a ceremony to sign the partnership. The invite states that the event will take place at 3 pm at the State House, Nairobi, on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.
The expected signing of a working formula between Sakaja and President Ruto comes just days after Governor Sakaja strongly denied any plans to transfer county functions, a move that has been seen as contradictory.
“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.
“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,” Sakaja added.