Politician wants court to declare authorities illegal

An aspiring politician has moved to court seeking an order declaring all local authorities unlawful once the devolved government comes into effect.

Saying that there was confusion whether the 175 local authorities shall exist at the onset of the new system, Mr Samson Ndindi Nyoro wants the court to clear the dilemma he says he is facing.

In a petition filed at the Nairobi law court Thursday, Mr Nyoro wants the court to declare all local authorities superfluous, null and void once the provision of the Constitution relating to devolved governments comes into force.

In the petition, Mr Nyoro says that he has an ambition of running for a political office in 2012 either as councillor under the Local Authority Act or a county representative in the Murang’a County.

But he is not sure whether the local authorities will still exist after the devolved government system is put in place and county assemblies established. Mr Nyoro argues that the government has failed to issue a policy direction on the fate of the local authorities.

And according to him, the local authorities have failed to perform and therefore a waste of national resources. He further adds that local authorities’ functions and powers overlap with those of the county governments and which will cause confusion.

Mr Nyoro also says that it will be expensive to maintain both systems- local authorities and county governments- and that the new Constitution was creating anxiety among councillors and employees of local authorities.

“Local authorities powers to raise revenue have been curtailed and abolished by the provisions of the new Constitution including articles 209 and 210 and thus these powers will be rendered superfluous, null and void, once the provisions of the devolved government come into force on the date of the first elections for county assemblies and governors are held,” he says in the application.

Alternatively, Mr Nyoro will be asking the court to order the Attorney General and Local Government minister to prepare a bill that will pave way for the abolishment of local authorities.

In a sworn statement, Mr Nyoro also wants the court to declare that all the sections establishing local authorities are inconsistent with the Constitution.

If he convinces the court, Mr Nyoro wants a timeline to be set for the preparation of a bill as envisaged by Section 18 of the sixth schedule of the Constitution for presentation to Parliament.