ODM leader Raila Odinga has strongly criticised those blaming Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja for the city’s deteriorating roads, clarifying that many of these roads are not under his jurisdiction.

Speaking during the burial of Dr. Francis Ngaru in Kiambu on Friday, May 2, 2025, Raila took aim at critics who have targeted the Governor over issues outside his control. According to Odinga, the bulk of Nairobi’s road network falls under national agencies, not the county government.

“You cannot blame Governor Sakaja for poor roads in Nairobi, which are not under his jurisdiction,” Raila said, addressing the gathered crowd.

“Most Nairobi roads are not under the county government, but they are under the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) and Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA).”

His remarks were an effort to dispel the growing misinformation that Governor Sakaja is responsible for all the road infrastructure issues in the city.

The ODM leader went on to challenge the presence of KeRRA within Nairobi’s Central Business District, insisting that the agency ought to focus on rural roads as originally mandated under the principles of devolution.

 “What is KeRRA doing inside Nairobi city, in the capital of the country?” he asked, emphasising that the city’s road challenges were rooted in misdirected blame rather than the actual division of responsibilities.

Threat to devolution

Raila’s comments on this matter came as part of a wider defence of devolution, which he warned was under threat from recent political developments.

He expressed deep concern over efforts to amend the Constitution to suit narrow political goals, particularly regarding the proposed legalisation of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

Raila made it clear that such moves would undermine the essence of devolution, which he argued had empowered counties and decentralised resources for equitable development.

“I want to say that Parliament must not try to change the Constitution because of narrow ends.The Constitution that we brought here brought devolution, and that devolution needs to be defended,” Raila stated.

He stressed that the national government should respect the autonomy of county governments and cease attempts to curtail their power by appropriating resources meant for local development.

“Today there is a gazette notice saying that they need to amend the Constitution in order to legalise this CDF. What does the national government have to do with the counties?” he asked.

Raila further elaborated on the importance of devolved functions like road maintenance and infrastructure development.

He called for national agencies to focus on their mandate while leaving the counties to manage local projects.

According to him, the national government’s role is not to interfere or hijack functions clearly assigned to counties under devolution, but rather to empower them by increasing funding and allowing them to execute their own development projects.

“Roads are also devolved. There is KeRRA and KURA; there is only KeNHA for the national government, and it deals with international highways and national trunk roads, leaving all other roads in the country for counties to manage. The national government should send money down to the counties for them to take care of their roads,” Raila explained.

The former prime minister also criticised the national government’s involvement in constructing markets for counties, asserting that such responsibilities should be left to the counties themselves.

He took a swipe at the national government for parading its market-building projects in counties, arguing that such developments should be the sole responsibility of county governments, who are better positioned to deliver on local needs.

 “Why would you be building markets for counties? Let counties build markets for themselves. Even in affordable housing, let counties build affordable housing for themselves,” he argued, pointing to the need for counties to have full control over the development of their regions.

Raila concluded his remarks by calling for a more substantial allocation of resources to counties, proposing that the percentage of devolved funds should be increased from 15% to 40%.

He stated that this is the only justifiable circumstance under which governors can be held accountable for underperformance, emphasising that they should be allocated increased funding to effectively undertake development projects, as envisioned by the principles of devolution.

 “Then we can blame the governors if they are not working,” he added, reinforcing his stance that more financial autonomy for counties would lead to greater accountability and progress.