Senior officials in Nairobi City County's Department of Built Environment and Urban Planning are occupying key positions illegally, raising fresh questions about staffing irregularities, public service appointments and accountability at City Hall.
The disclosures emerged during a joint sitting of the County Assembly's Lands, Planning and Housing Committee and the Labour Committee, where County Public Service Board Chairperson Thomas Kasowa revealed that several senior officers had overstayed in acting positions beyond the six-month period permitted under public service regulations.
Mr Kasowa told the committee that some officers, including directors and deputy directors, had continued discharging responsibilities in acting capacities long after the legally prescribed timelines had expired, raising questions about the legality of their continued occupation of the offices and decisions made under their authority.
The Nairobi City County Assembly in session on June 23, 2026.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
He told the MCAs that an officer could only legitimately serve in an acting capacity after receiving a formal appointment letter from the County Public Service Board, warning that those without such documentation were effectively occupying the positions illegally.
“Unless somebody, because when we are talking about the acting position, you should have an acting letter from the board. So, when you don't have, you can't say you are acting, because you don't have an acting letter from the board,” Mr Kasowa told the committee.
The planning department oversees planning approvals, development control, construction standards and enforcement of land-use regulations across the capital. The committee was further informed that some officers holding senior positions lacked the requisite academic qualifications for the portfolios they were occupying.
In other instances, questions were raised over alleged arbitrary promotions, with some officials reportedly elevated to positions without following established procedures governing appointments and career progression in the county public service.
The concerns have placed the department's human resource management under scrutiny, particularly given the sensitive nature of its mandate and the enormous responsibility placed on planning officials in regulating construction and development within Nairobi.
The Department of Built Environment and Urban Planning plays a central role in determining how buildings are approved, whether developments comply with planning regulations and how construction activities are monitored.
The concerns are particularly significant following growing public scrutiny of building approvals, development control and enforcement procedures in Nairobi, with the recent Eastleigh building collapse intensifying calls for accountability within the county's planning establishment.
According to Babadogo MCA Geoffrey Majiwa, who chairs the Lands, Planning and Housing Committee, some of the affected officers have continued exercising significant administrative powers, including signing critical documents, despite serving in acting capacities beyond the stipulated period.
Baba Dogo MCA Geoffrey Majiwa.
“We must find out how officers who have remained in acting positions beyond the stipulated period have continued exercising powers and making decisions associated with substantive appointments,” he said.
Mr Majiwa said the committee would seek to establish the circumstances under which the officers continued discharging their responsibilities and whether the decisions they made complied with the law.
MCAs have also raised concerns regarding county officials serving without valid appointments, yet they have been involved in approving building plans, authorising developments and signing documents that have a direct bearing on construction and land-use regulation in the city.
Documents presented before the joint committee indicate that the department has an establishment of 962 employees.
The committee is expected to scrutinise appointment records, acting appointments, academic qualifications and promotion histories of the affected officers to establish whether the county has complied with applicable public service requirements.
Among the officers whose tenure and appointments are expected to come under scrutiny is Dominic Mutegi, Director of Development Management; Ruth Muroki, Director of Urban Planning and Research; and Peter Wanyoike, Director of Lands Survey.
Others are Frederick Ochanda, Assistant Director for Development Approvals, and Geoffrey Cheruiyot, who serves in the department's legal affairs docket.
