CEC's asked to seek Sakaja's permission to do media interviews

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja. [Samson Wire, Standard]

Nairobi County Senior staff have been asked to seek clearance from Governor Johnson Sakaja before taking any media interviews.

The directive was given by Acting County Secretary and Head of Public Service, Patrick Analo in a memo dated December 19, 2023.

The memo was shared with all County Executive Committee members, county chief officers, and directors.

"This is to direct all officers invited for media interviews to seek authorization from the Governor before honoring the media interviews," the memo reads.

Adding that, "we take cognizance of the fact that some officers are usually invited in their individual professional capacities,"

For this reason, the directive says those who fall into the aforementioned category must state that they have been individually invited to the talks due to their professional expertise.

However, Analo told The Standard that this is not aimed at gagging the officers from talking in public through the media.

"In a county that has 15,000 staff, we found it better to do that so any kind of contradiction can be avoided. The reason for seeking clearance from the governor is to inform him about the issues they want to address," the county secretary responded.

He added that some staff are still new to the county and are still learning some things about it.

Some of the targets are those appearing on vernacular radio stations, which the secretary said have caused confusion.

"If the process of sharing information is not streamlined, it will cause some confusion. For instance, you will find that what the CEC is saying will be different from what Chief Officers or Directors are saying," Analo added.

The directive comes days after Nairobi Chief Officers, while appearing in a TV interview, stated that the county was preparing to buy motor boats for county staff in preparation for El Nino rains.

During the interview, the Chief Officer expressed confidence in the county's readiness, highlighting the mobilization of essential assets like excavators and lorries.

"As a department, we are planning to procure motorboats and inflatable rafts to help us access flooded areas," he stated, but the county later delinked itself from the remarks.