The Law Society of Kenya has refused to nominate a representative to the Nairobi Metropolitan Services’ Planning and Land Use Liaison Committee.
In a letter addressed to NMS deputy director general Enosh Onyango, LSK boss Nelson Havi said that the Maj Gen Mohammed Badi-led agency is an illegal entity with no mandate to execute the functions transferred from the county government.
“There is however no indication in your letter as to the process by which NMS was prescribed and established as the institutional framework for the execution of the transferred functions in line with the provision of Article 7.1 of Deed of Transfer,” Havi said.
According to LSK, the liaison committee is by extension illegal because the establishment of NMS has not been anchored in law.
“We took the liberty to peruse every publication of the Kenya Gazette to confirm if there has been any publication of any statutory instrument prescribing and establishing NMS as the institutional framework pursuant to Article 7.1 of Deed of Transfer. We are yet to find one,” Havi said.
On May 4, NMS had written to LSK to nominate an advocate of the High Court to the soon-to-be-established liaison committee.
The committee is a replacement for two urban planning committees that were disbanded by NMS on Wednesday this week.
In a newspaper advertisement, Badi announced the immediate disbandment of the County Urban Planning Development and the County Pre-Technical Committee.
The new committee is expected to be formed within seven days after the disbandment of the former – an exercise that now seems to be in headwinds.
NMS has been engaged in a tussle with Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, who has severally complained that it is undermining his authority.
The seconding of seven military officers to the agency has also raised eyebrows over the militarisation of civilian institutions.
The Star
