The challenge for Kidero and lessons from Sonko

Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero is, by most measures, the worst performing governor in the country. This is for the simple reason that on paper, he was handed in 2013 what one might call the dream county. Nairobi produces about 40 per cent of Kenya’s GDP. It is the most urbanised and most educated county in the country, both of which make it one of the easier counties to govern. In other words, Dr Kidero is lucky to be the governor of a county with immense economic and social capital. He also has the advantage of running the county that benefits most from national government policies. All he had to do was tap into this immense resource and serve as an example for the rest of the country.

Yet instead, he chose confusion and failure. His original sin might have been to bring with him to County Hall the baggage of Mumias Sugar Company. This entrench a popular perception that the sorry state of public service delivery in Nairobi is a direct result of corrupt contractors, many of them linked to Kidero and his associates while he ran Mumias.