Sakaja demands powers to prosecute offenders in counties

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja demanded the return of prosecution powers to county governments to address various offenses committed.

This comes as many places experience a building safety crisis that has claimed lives and shattered public confidence.

Prosecutions can only be done by the Office of Public Prosecutions as per the law.

Speaking on day three of rescue operations after a building collapsed in South C, Sakaja acknowledged the mounting frustration among residents who have watched illegal and substandard constructions rise unchecked across the city.

He talked on what he termed as both the systemic failures that have enabled dangerous developments and the difficult decisions his administration now faces.

“There are challenges expressed over time. The prosecution powers need to be returned to the county,” Sakaja said.

He said without the authority to prosecute directly, county officials are forced rely on coordination with national agencies, a process that can delay justice and allow non-compliant developers to slip through cracks in the system.

Sakaja, however, was careful to emphasize that his administration would not abandon due process, even in moments of crisis.

He outlined a system where developers would bear legal responsibility for their work through signed indemnities, ensuring that professionalism remains the standard.

“Once the approval is done, the developer signs an indemnity as professionalism is maintained. We will continue upholding the integrity,” he stated.

He said integrity demands consequences: “Someone must pay for all this. Lives lost will not be returned.”

Sakaja’s words hung heavy with the reality facing families who have buried loved ones crushed beneath concrete and steel.

“No amount of prosecution or regulatory reform can restore what has been taken.” Sakaja stressed. Yet accountability, Sakaja suggested, is both a moral obligation and a necessary deterrent.

His administration now faces the delicate task of investigating buildings adjacent to collapsed structures, a process that could displace more families but may prevent future tragedies.

“The house nearby the collapsed house will have to go through investigations to confirm suitability,” Sakaja said, acknowledging the disruption this would cause.

He also cautioned against knee-jerk demolitions that could destroy legitimate investments without proper investigation.

“Bringing such an investment down without investigation is bad even to the owner,” he noted, striking a balance between urgency and fairness.

Elsewhere, Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris called for the resignation of the entire county planning committee, accusing officials of approving dangerous buildings out of greed.

“We’ve seen approvals done for greed,” Passaris declared as anger mounted over how substandard structures continue receiving official approval despite glaring safety violations.

She said accountability must reach the highest levels of county administration.

“We should see resignation of the whole planning committee of Nairobi county,” she stated, calling for a wholesale clearing of the deck rather than the sacrifice of junior officers typically offered when scandals break.

“You cannot avoid being culpable when your department is involved,” Passaris argued, rejecting the notion that senior officials can hide behind layers of bureaucracy while their subordinates face consequences alone.

Earlier she visited the family of the gentleman whose body was retrieved from the debris today from the collapsed building.