Court Stops Reconstitution of Nairobi County Assembly Committees

A High Court has stopped the decision by Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Ken Ng’ondi to reconstitute House committees.

This was following a petition filed by Robert Alai (Kileleshwa) and Redson Otieno Onyango (Ngei).

The legislators argued that the decision was Illegal and unprocedural.

“A conservatory order restraining the respondents from implementing the communication from the chair concerning the reconstitution of select committees,” ruled Justice Chacha Mwita on Thursday.

Justice Mwita also allowed petitioners seven days to file a supplementary affidavit alongside written submissions not exceeding ten pages.

Further, the court ruled that respondents and interested parties have seven days after service to file and serve written submissions to the petition, also at most ten pages.

Submissions will be highlighted on June 26, 2024.

Alai and Otieno on Wednesday argued that the the action was an attempt to settle personal and political grievances by disbanding and effectively ousting them from their respective committees.

“Speaker issued a communication dubbed ‘Communication from the Chair No. 19 of 2024’ and titled ‘Reconstitution of Committees’ through which the 1st Respondent (Speaker Ng’ondi) purports to illegally, unprocedurally and prematurely order for the reconstitution of the Select Committee on Public Accounts and Sectoral Committee on Water and Sanitation, to which the Applicants belong as member and Chairman,” court papers read.

”It is therefore imperative that this court intervenes by granting the orders sought to avert further acts of illegality and abuse of power…”