Mtetezi, a civil society group that prides itself as ‘The Grassroots Economic Justice Movement’, has called for a fresh conversation on how Nairobi City County should be administered.
In a statement, Mtetezi argues that Nairobi’s role as Kenya’s political and economic center has outgrown the conventional devolution framework that established the 47 counties under the 2010 Constitution.
According to the civil society group, Nairobi City’s daily functioning increasingly resembles that of a metropolitan region that extends far beyond its official borders.
Consequently, Mtetezi is now calling for a mature debate on stripping Nairobi of its country status and restructuring it into a special metropolitan capital territory.
Mtetezi posits that every day, tens of thousands of commuters travel into Nairobi from surrounding areas in Kiambu, Machakos and Kajiado counties. Ideally, towns including Ruiru, Thika, Kitengela, Ngong and Athi River have effectively become extensions of the capital, with residents living outside the county but depending on Nairobi for work, services and infrastructure.
It is because of these reasons, Mtetezi National Convenor Francis Awino says, that the metropolitan reality has exposed a governance gap in Nairobi. Nairobi’s infrastructure — roads, public transport systems and sanitation services — regularly supports millions who reside outside the county yet rely on the city’s facilities.
As the national capital, Nairobi also carries responsibilities that go beyond those of an ordinary county. It hosts the seat of government, diplomatic missions and numerous international organizations. These roles place additional demands on the city’s infrastructure, security and planning.
National gov’t intervention
The strain on the city’s governance framework has repeatedly prompted national government intervention.
In 2008, the administration of former president Mwai Kibaki created the Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development to coordinate planning across the rapidly expanding metropolitan region.
More than a decade later, during the presidency of Uhuru Kenyatta, the national government established Nairobi Metropolitan Services in 2020 after a breakdown in service delivery within the county administration.
The agency temporarily assumed several key functions including roads, sanitation and urban planning.
Today, Awino says, the administration of President William Ruto has adopted a cooperative framework with Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja to jointly invest in infrastructure, urban transport and sanitation systems in the city.
While these interventions differ in approach, they reveal a recurring theme, Nairobi’s challenges often extend beyond the capacity of a single county government.
It is within this context that Mtetezi is proposing a national conversation on whether Nairobi should remain a county or evolve into a special metropolitan capital city, an arrangement used in capitals such as Washington, D.C., London and Abuja.
In such systems, governance structures are specifically designed to balance the local needs of residents with the broader national role played by the capital city.
One possibility could involve creating a metropolitan authority to coordinate planning across Nairobi and neighboring counties, particularly in areas such as transport, housing development, environmental protection and economic infrastructure.
Another option would be maintaining Nairobi’s county status but strengthen inter-county cooperation and national support mechanisms.
Mtetezi argues that the debate is not about dismantling devolution but about ensuring that the governance framework of Kenya’s capital reflects its unique position within the country.
