Senate approves conferment of city status to Thika Municipality

The Senate has approved the conferment of city status to Thika Municipality.

The resolution has already been transmitted to President William Ruto for the issuance of a charter.

Consequently, the Devolution and Inter Governmental Relations Committee  said the Kiambu County is required to submit to the Senate, within 90 days of the conferment of city status, workplans for the  the full operationalisation of the public theatre and the museum or interpretive centre.

“The Governor of Kiambu County Kimani Wamatangi is required to submit the workplan for the transition to a Smart Waste Management framework, including the full operationalisation of the Kang'oki sanitary engineered landfill,” commttee chairperson, Sheikh Abbass,  told the House.

The Governor is required to provide the workplans for the enhancement of infrastructure and services within the residential estates, including road networks, drainage systems, flood mitigation, water supply coverage, and solid waste management, in line with the matters raised by residents during the public participation process.

The committee said during a visit to Thika Town on fact finding mission noted the strong expression of support from a wide cross-section of stakeholders during the public participation process.

“The Committee observes that Thika Municipality has demonstrated notable progress in strengthening its institutional, financial, and infrastructural foundations, and that the conferment of city status presents an opportunity to consolidate these gains and accelerate improvements in service delivery and urban governance,” said Abbass.

The committee observed that the County Government has undertaken to fully operationalise the public theatre and the museum or interpretive centre, and to modernise solid waste management within the proposed City through the transition of the Kang'oki site to a sanitary engineered landfill and the adoption of smart technologies.

The Senate Committee further observed that residents, in the course of the public participation process, raised matters relating to road networks within residential estates, drainage systems, flood mitigation, water supply coverage, and solid waste management, which the County Government has undertaken to progressively address as part of the transition to city status.

“ The Committee observes that the conferment of city status to Thika Municipality will provide an important platform for accelerated development, improved service delivery, and enhanced local economic growth, anchored on sustained commitment to good governance, prudent financial management, and responsive urban planning,” said Abbass.

The country currently has got five cities which including Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and recently Eldoret with the elevation of Thika going to raise the number to six even as other towns work towards achieving a similar status in the next few years.

Members of County Assembly in Kiambu had in June 2025 approved the elevation of Thika Town to a city taking into consideration the recommendation of the Assembly’s sectoral committee on Planning and Urbanisation.

Governor Wamatangi, who led a delegation from the county executive and county assembly during the conveyance of the message to Senate in July last year expressed confidence that the town meets all requirement of being a city.

“Thika is positioned directly along the trans-African route with the highways that goes through can be used to travel all the way to Ethiopia, Sudan, and other Horn of Africa nations. The road can also be used to travel to Zambia, Malawi, and South Africa. That is why the industries established in Thika flourish,” said Wamatangi.