Sakaja Tells Court Waikenda Is His Nairobi County Secretary Nominee
Key points:
- Sakaja appeared at Milimani High Court on 29 July 2026 over alleged failure to appoint a substantive County Secretary.
- He said Dr Machel Waikenda’s name was forwarded to the County Assembly on 27 July for vetting.
- The move follows a December 2025 judgment ordering him to start the appointment process.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has told the High Court that he has complied with orders to fill the long-vacant County Secretary seat by nominating Dr Machel Waikenda and sending the name to the Nairobi County Assembly for approval.
Appearing before Justice Gregory Mutai at Milimani on Wednesday, 29 July 2026, Sakaja denied that he had wilfully disobeyed court directions, the Daily Nation and The Standard reported. Petitioners had sought to have him cited for contempt for allegedly failing to appoint a substantive County Secretary nearly eight months after a December 2025 judgment directed him to begin the process.
What Sakaja told the court
According to court reporting, Sakaja said a selection panel shortlisted ten candidates and that he selected Dr Waikenda from that list. The nominee’s name, he said, was forwarded to the Speaker of the Nairobi County Assembly on 27 July 2026 for vetting and approval—the statutory step before a County Secretary can take office.
Citizen Digital similarly reported the governor arguing that the appointment process was under way and that he had satisfied the order requiring him to initiate it. The case is politically sensitive because the County Secretary is the principal administrative officer of the county executive, coordinating cabinet business and serving as a key link between the governor and the assembly.
Why the vacancy matters
Nairobi has operated for an extended period without a fully regularised County Secretary, a gap critics say weakens continuity in policy execution and leaves the executive exposed on compliance questions. Supporters of the governor have framed the delay as a careful recruitment exercise rather than defiance.
Assembly vetting will now decide whether Waikenda is confirmed. Until lawmakers complete that process, the court dispute over compliance may continue depending on how judges read the governor’s filings and the petitioners’ response.
Sources: Daily Nation, The Standard, Citizen Digital, 29 July 2026.
