Senior counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi has poked holes into the Nairobi River Commission.
In a statement shared on his X social handle on Tuesday, the lawyer opined that President William Ruto needs to reboot the commission urgently.
"What happened to the Nairobi River Commission? Creating the Nairobi River Commission was an environmental masterstroke by H.E William Ruto. It fits so well with his climate change crusade on the global stage," Ahmednasir stated.
However, the lawyer said putting the commission under the office of the Deputy President and not the Environment ministry was a big mistake.
Ahmednasir claimed that President Ruto should by now know what gets his deputy's adrenaline going and what he can deliver with remarkable ease.
"Scaring Azimio, checkmating Raila, grassroots mobilisation in Central Kenya, and chasing cartels from the coffee sector among others are some of his pet projects. I don't think Deputy President Gachagua has time for removing plastic bottles and polythene bags from Nairobi River" he added.
Ahmednasir also alleged that the appointment of former Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu and some commissioners was a signal that the government was not serious about cleaning the Nairobi River.
President Ruto, in February this year, launched the Nairobi Rivers Commission, an initiative aimed at restoring Nairobi's lost glory.
The commission is expected to examine previous reports and recommendations made to reclaim the Nairobi River and adopt lessons learnt in the new initiative.
Ruto named Pamela A. Olet as the chairperson of the commission.
Other members include Eva Muhia – Representing Riverine Communities, Elizabeth Wathuti – Representing Civil Society, Carlota Dal Lago – Representing the Private Sector, Elijah Biama – Representing Academia and Duncan Ojwang – Representing Academia.
Also, Mumo Musuva – a Representative from Nairobi City County and Grace Senewa Mesopirr — Representing the Ministry of Environment and Forestry are part of the commission.
Waititu was also appointed to the commission, but his appointment was contested and the court gave stay orders to stop him from being sworn in.
The members shall hold office for three years renewable once based on performance.
Ruto had earlier explained that his dream is to sort out the filth in the capital and get rid of sewage and all other effluents in the city's rivers.
The commission started the cleaning last week, with works which entailed clearing solid waste and addressing sewage disposal into the river.
