Senator Edwin Sifuna has dismissed President Ruto’s Sh80 billion Nairobi partnership as a political mirage, outlining an alternative constitutional path for the city’s development.

The war of numbers has begun. Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has launched a scathing attack on the credibility of the Sh80 billion figure touted by President William Ruto as a development partnership for the capital. Terming the claim "fiscal fiction," Sifuna argues that the sum is a phantom budget designed to dazzle voters while the actual constitutional mechanisms for funding the city are ignored.

The Constitutional Counter-Offer

Sifuna’s rejection is not merely obstructionist; he has tabled a "Constitutional Path" for development. He insists that instead of ad-hoc "handshakes" and opaque deals between the President and Governor Sakaja, the National Government should simply honor its statutory obligations. "We don't need favors; we need our allocation," Sifuna argued, pointing to delayed disbursements that have crippled city services.

• The Dispute: Sifuna claims the Sh80 billion is re-packaged existing debt and ongoing projects, not new money.
• The Strategy: By rejecting the deal, Sifuna positions himself as the defender of Nairobi’s institutional independence against Executive encroachment.

Politics of the Purse String

The Senator’s stance highlights the deep mistrust between the opposition-led city assembly and the national executive. He warns that accepting this "gift" will turn City Hall into a department of State House. For Sifuna, the cost of this Sh80 billion is too high: it is the autonomy of the Nairobi voter.

"Development by decree is dictatorship," he warned. The battle for Nairobi’s ledger is now a battle for its liberty.