It is now one year and two months since Polycarp Igathe dramatically stepped down as the Nairobi Deputy Governor, saying he had failed to win the trust of his boss.
In that one year, Igathe has risen to the CEO of Equity Bank Kenya Limited but Sonko has failed to appoint his replacement at City hall.
The question of Deputy Governor dominated Wednesday’s meeting between Sonko and the Senate Committee on Devolution.
“I have made several attempts in finding Igathe’s replacement and I think you need to appreciate this.’ Sonko told the committee after earlier on branding this a non-issue.
The governor said that he does not want to appoint a Deputy Governor who would embarrass him by resigning after three days.
“I am still consulting because I don’t want to appoint a deputy who will disappoint me as Igathe did”
But details within the center of power have revealed that Sonko is not only stalling on appointing a DG but he is in fact afraid of having one.
It is believed that the governor has heard more than ones, plans by certain forces with Jubilee Party to impeach him and replace him with his own Deputy. But that cannot happen when there is no Deputy.
Sonko was so frustrated last year, that he decided to controversially nominate self-proclaimed NRM General Miguna Miguna as his Deputy.
Even though Miguna turned down the nomination, and was subsequently rejected by the county assembly, it was a way of Sonko giving the cartels the middle finger.
There was no way the cartels could go through with an impeachment plan because they would have remained with Miguna Miguna as governor, sounds a tough choice, right?
Sonko has been pushed to the wall by Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja to appoint a Deputy Governor. But he insists he will only do so if a law is passed by the Senate to regulate the same.
But does the governor really need a Deputy?