Since the advent of devolution in 2013, Nairobi City County Government has remained a den of leadership confusion that is adding little value to what the spirit of the 2010 constitution intended the capital city to be.
Today, Nairobi residents are still grappling with floods, strained infrastructure and growing concerns over governance at City Hall, yet, very few leaders are rising up to speak against the blatant impunity that is denying the city its right to development.
One of the leaders who have stood out in the recent past include Nairobi South B Member of County Assembly (MCA) Esther Waithera Chege, whose recent push for better leadership in the capital has sparked a heated political debate.
Waithera, working alongside other MCAs such as Kileleshwa’s Robert Alai, has been at the forefront of calls for stronger oversight of the Nairobi County Executive.
Their latest move ,a fresh impeachment push against Governor Johnson Sakaja, has triggered both support and opposition within the County Assembly. Yet the debate they have ignited is one Nairobi residents cannot afford to ignore.
Nandi Senator Samson Cheragei is the latest to throw his support behind Waithera who is emerging as a fearless political force in Nairobi.
She led the revival of the impeachment process against Sakaja, citing a range of concerns about governance and accountability at City Hall.
The legislators claim to have gathered enough signatures to initiate the process and plan to table a motion outlining numerous grounds for removal from office.
According to the MCAs leading the initiative, the impeachment motion will detail more than twenty allegations touching on financial management, executive conduct and governance practices within the county administration.
Waithera has been among the most vocal leaders in this push, arguing that the Assembly has a constitutional duty to hold the executive accountable when concerns arise about the management of public resources and delivery of services.
This stance should not be dismissed as mere political rivalry. In any functioning democracy, legislative oversight is not optional — it is essential.
Indeed, tensions between the Nairobi County Assembly and the governor have been building for months. The current impeachment push follows earlier disagreements between MCAs and the governor over development priorities and the management of county programs.
The situation has created deep divisions within the Assembly. While some MCAs support the impeachment push, others have rejected it and instead backed a Sh80 billion cooperation agreement between the national government and Nairobi County aimed at improving services and infrastructure in the capital.
But the question raised by Waithera and her allies goes beyond political alliances: Is Nairobi being governed in the best interests of its residents?
Recent events suggest that the city still faces serious governance challenges. Last week, heavy rains triggered widespread flooding across Nairobi and other parts of Kenya, killing dozens of people and disrupting transport and daily life.
The floods once again exposed long-standing problems in the city’s drainage systems and urban planning.
Experts have repeatedly warned that clogged drainage channels, rapid urbanization and poor waste management are major factors contributing to flooding in the capital.
For residents who have watched their homes submerged, businesses destroyed and roads turned into rivers, the issue of leadership at City Hall is not abstract politics. It is about whether the county government is capable of planning, maintaining infrastructure and responding effectively to crises.
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