A showdown is looming between the Nairobi County Assembly and Governor Johnson Sakaja after Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) rejected the proposed 2026/2027 budget, accusing the county executive of excluding them from the budget-making process and bypassing public participation.
The Assembly leadership said it would not approve what it described as a flawed budget, insisting that the Executive must adhere to constitutional and legal requirements before the spending plan can be considered.
Majority Leader Peter Imwatok led the criticism, dismissing the proposed budget as a “total sham” that was prepared without meaningful consultation with the Assembly.
“We are not fools to be presented with a budget we did not help craft. Budget-making is our constitutional mandate, not something a governor drafts in a corridor to serve his interests,” Imwatok said.
The MCAs argued that the Executive failed to involve both elected representatives and members of the public in preparing the budget, saying the process fell short of the requirements for public participation.
The dispute has escalated further after some MCAs alleged that attempts had been made to influence legislators to support the budget.
One MCA claimed that Governor Sakaja had been lobbying members to approve the financial plan and alleged that offers of KSh 800,000 had been made to some legislators. The MCA also claimed that meetings involving the Budget Committee were held at Riverside instead of following the established budget process.
“This is tentatively our last budget, and we must do our best with it. He cannot convene the Budget Committee at Riverside and then present us with a document and call it a budget. Our voices must be heard,” the MCA said.
The allegations of bribery have not been independently verified. Governor Sakaja’s office had not responded to the claims by the time of publication.
Despite the mounting opposition, Governor Sakaja has continued to urge the Assembly to approve what he has described as a critical budget for the 2026/2027 financial year.
With the Assembly maintaining its opposition, uncertainty now surrounds the passage of Nairobi County’s budget ahead of the start of the new financial year, setting the stage for a potential impasse between the Executive and the County Assembly.
