A resident of Nakuru, Evans Kimori, has officially written to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to ask for guidance on how to suspend the County Government of Nakuru.

In his letter, which he sent to the IEBC’s Nakuru County office, Kimori asked for two things. First, he wanted to know the total number of registered voters in the county.

Second, he requested information on the exact number of signatures he would need to collect in order to start the suspension process.

To support his request, Kimori explained that the county government of late, has not been functioning well.

According to him, there has been ongoing confusion and unrest in the county. He blamed these problems on the long absence of the county’s governor, Susan Kihika.

In addition to that, he mentioned several troubling incidents. For instance, he pointed out a series of alleged abductions that, he claims, were carried out by officers from the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).

He believes these unfortunate events show that Nakuru county is in big crisis and something must be done.

Series of petotions

Interestingly, Kimori’s move came just 14 days after two other actions. First, a petition was submitted to the Nakuru County Assembly asking for an explanation about Governor Kihika’s disappearance.

Second, a separate letter was sent to former U.S. President Donald Trump, requesting that Governor Kihika be deported from the United States.

However, not everyone agrees with Kimori. Some women leaders have defended Governor Kihika. They said that she is currently in the U.S. on maternity leave and therefore not missing.

In fact, the last time the public saw the governor was on November 18, 2024, when she attended a graduation ceremony for TVET students in the county.

Legally speaking, the Kenyan Constitution—under Article 192—gives the President the power to suspend a county government.

However, there are only two conditions under which this can happen. One, there must be an emergency caused by internal conflict or war.

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Two, there must be a proper investigation by an independent commission of inquiry, and the President must be convinced that the allegations are true.

Even then, the final decision does not rest with the President alone. After a suspension is proposed, the Senate must either approve or reject it.

Therefore, although Kimori has taken the first step, the process is long and involves several steps and institutions.