The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has declined to nominate an Advocate of the High Court to be a member of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) Liason Committee.
LSK President Nelson Havi says the Nairobi Metropolitan Service is not a body established or recognized in law, therefore the Society should not be expected to nominate any of its members to serve in the committee.
According to Havi, there is no statutory instrument showing that NMS is prescribed and established as a public office.
“We took the liberty to peruse every publication of the Kenya Gazette made subsequent to publication of Deed of Transfer to confirm if there has been publication of any statutory instrument prescribing and establishing NMS as the institutional framework pursuant to Article 7.1 of Deed of Transfer and made in accordance with provisions of the Statutory Instruments Act. 2013. We are yet to find one,” says the LSK boss.
“After careful consideration of the above and in the absence of a statutory instrument establishing NMS, we have made the conclusion that NMS is not a body established or recognized in law and by extension, neither is the Liaison Committee sort to be constituted there under. Given that the establishment of NMI lacks any legitimate legal foundation, the Society cannot be expected to nominate any of its members to serve in the Liaison Committee.”
The Law Society of Kenya therefore wants the Maj-General Mohamed Badi-led team to abandon the efforts to constitute the Liaison Committee.
“The Society shall not undertake any nomination of its member to the Liaison Committee as requested. We hope that in light of the deficiencies we have identified in the manner in which NMS came into existence. you will abandon the current invalid efforts to constitute the Liaison Committee,” added Havi.
Under section 77(1) (a) of the Act stipulates that the Committee thus established shall consist of among others an Advocate of the High Court nominated by the Law Society of Kenya and appointed by the County Executive Committee member who shall be the chairperson.
Meanwhile, a legal tussle between the Nairobi Metropolitan Services and County Governor Mike Sonko threatens to derail service delivery in the city.
In particular, NMS Director-General Mohammed Badi says the metropolitan service is yet to put up isolation centres to combat the spread of Covid-19 due to lack of funds.
Sonko last month declined to assent to a Bill allocating more than Ksh.15 billion to the new outfit to enable it execute four functions transferred to it.
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