President William Ruto made an unexpected appearance in Nairobi’s central business district late on Saturday night, May 9, catching many city residents by surprise.
The President was accompanied by Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir, and Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah, among other leaders, during the night tour of the city.
Members of the public gathered along the streets as the Head of State inspected several ongoing infrastructure and beautification projects being implemented through a partnership between the national government and Nairobi City County.
President Ruto captured conducting night inspection of Nairobi development projects. Photo: Courtesy.
According to reports, the late-night visit was aimed at assessing the progress of the works currently underway in the capital.
Among the projects inspected by President Ruto during the late-night tour were the ongoing construction of non-motorised transport corridors, installation of street lighting, and road rehabilitation works within Nairobi’s CBD.
The inspection comes months after Governor Sakaja signed a cooperation framework with the national government at State House, Nairobi, in February this year.
Under the arrangement, the management and implementation of joint projects in the capital were to be overseen through two committees — a Steering Committee chaired by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and an Implementation Committee led by Sakaja.
The Steering Committee, which comprises Cabinet Secretaries and county secretaries, was mandated to provide policy direction and oversee Nairobi County’s broader development agenda.
Meanwhile, the Implementation Committee, bringing together Principal Secretaries and County Executive Committee members, was assigned the responsibility of coordinating and executing projects and government programmes on a day-to-day basis.
President Ruto defended the cooperation framework, maintaining that it is anchored in law and insisting that the national government is not seeking to take over the functions of Nairobi County.
Although both Ruto and Governor Sakaja expressed confidence that the partnership would help transform the capital, the arrangement attracted criticism from a section of leaders.
