‘Unwanted’: Nairobi Assembly staff locked out of Ruto’s State House cocktail party
The 'High tea' was a culmination of the inaugural presidential address to the assembly on Thursday, April 9, 2026. Assembly officials gave incongruent responses as staff felt dejected and embarrassed
By Adieri Mulaa
A historic day for Nairobi City County Assembly ended in dejection and embarrassment after dozens of staff were locked out of a cocktail party hosted by President William Ruto at State House last Thursday, April 9, 2026, The Informer Media Group can authoritatively reveal.
The event was a culmination of the inaugural presidential address to the County Assembly by President Ruto, at a Special Sitting of the Third Assembly (Fifth Session), on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
There was incongruent response from the leadership of the Nairobi City County Assembly on the matter, when The Informer Media Group sought clarity through WhatsApp messages on their mobile phones.
The county assembly staff felt dejected and embarrassed over the incident due to poor coordination between the county executive and the legislature.
Speaker Ken Ng’ondi never responded never responded on the matter. The Leader of Majority, Jateso Peter Imwatok hit the roof when we sought his in his comment.
”Who told u this nonsense! That is not the correct position. I am not aware of such invitations”, Imwatok responded.
Ruto’s presidential address to the county legislature has gone into the annals of history.
It is the first by a sitting President and Head State to a county assembly under the Constitution of Kenya 2010, which introduced devolution.
Chapter 2 (2) of the Constitution provides that “the governments at the national and county levels are distinct and inter-dependent, and shall conduct their mutual relations on the basis of consultation and cooperation.
President Ruto received overwhelming standing ovation from Members of the County Assembly (MCAs), for his remarkable speech at the historic Special Sitting of the House.
The Head of State made wide-ranging public policy pronouncements geared towards putting Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi on a pedestal of a modern city.
Multiple sources indicated that later, on Thursday evening, the county assembly staff were unceremoniously turned away at State House gates in Nairobi, where they turned up to honour the president’s invite for High Tea.
After the Presidential Address, Speaker Ken Ng’ondi announced in the plenary that Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) were invited to a cocktail party hosted by the president at State House.
”I would love to extend as instructed by His Excellency, the gesture whole heartedly by the President, to host you honourable members to a cocktail party at the State House at the rise of the Assembly”, said the Speaker.
Further to the Speaker’s communication, a text message reportedly circulated to members of staff via their phones indicated they had also been invited to the president’s High Tea at State House that Thursday evening.
”Good afternoon, kindly take note that all members and staff of Nairobi City County Assembly have been invited for a High Tea at State House from 5p.m. Kindly carry your National ID and Access Badge from the Presidential address”, the text circular read in part.
”Access will be granted from gates B and C. Kind regards”, the message seen by The Informer Media Group concluded.
To their dismay, upon arrival at the State House gates, the County Assembly employees were reportedly turned away by the presidential guards.
They were allegedly turned back on grounds that they were not among invitees to the State House cocktail party.
”I felt dejected, totally demoralised and wasted, but lived for another day”, said a staffer who cannot be quoted because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Another independent source at the assembly confided in us that the Clerk of the County Assembly, Edward Gichana and about two other senior officials were the only staffers who attended the party.
We sought the Clerk for a comment whether his staff were denied access to State House. He gave a brief two-word response: “Not true”, Gichana said.
However, asked whether the county assembly staff had been invited for the president’s cocktail party, Gichana did not respond.
The botched invitation tainted the historic presidential engagement with the legislative arm of Nairobi City County Government.
It left questions over who bears ultimate responsibility over the confusion.
The County Assembly staff roped Governor Johnson Sakaja into their predicament, criticising him for allegedly overshadowing them in the climax event.
They lamented about having been invited and prepared themselves to attend the event, only to be denied entry at the gate in such embarrassing manner.
Nairobi City County Assembly is the second largest legislature in Kenya after the National Assembly, with 124 Members, including the House Speaker as an ex-officio Member.
