City fountains and flowers sing his tune

By Peter Thatiah

The man in a polka-dotted tie, grey jacket and black trousers walks nonchalantly towards a fountain on Nairobi’s University Way and stops to admire the jets that spew water into the mid-day air.

He can be any other pedestrian out on a sunny morning stroll, posing to appreciate the greenery and other aesthetics that have lately changed the face of the city.

If those around the fountain knew who he was, they would stop gazing at the water geyser and turn their attention to him. This is Mr John Maina Gakuo, the Nairobi Town Clerk, whose handiwork is behind the beauty seen in Nairobi in the past few years.

My style

Anonymous could be his second name and he acknowledges this by saying: "That is my style, if people can see what I am doing, they don’t have to see me."

In early 2006, word circulated that Gakuo had been transferred from City Hall and council workers demonstrated to have him back. The then Mayor Dick Wathika had a rough time telling them it was a rumour.

They demanded to be addressed by Gakuo, with little knowledge that Gakuo was the man standing next to the mayor.

That was then. Last year, new councillors had just assumed office after the General Election and were keen to eject everyone, including Gakuo. This did not, however, go far.

Welcome to the world of this archetypal gentleman, who has turned the ‘City in the Garbage’ back to the old accolade of the Green City in the Sun.

Indeed, walking with him from Kimathi Street to Waiyaki Way gives one the feeling of a lowly gardener moving through a lush shamba.

He maintains a businesslike serious face, but cannot help betraying a tinge of pride and joy as he poses for our photographer on a smart park chair in front of sprouting flowers.

Gakuo is disarmingly unpretentious, and the only time he puts passion and emphasis into his voice is when he speaks about bringing Nairobi to believe in itself once more.

No magic

He believes there is no magic in doing a good job and prides in the current state of the city.

Gakuo was born in 1950, in West Pokot, to where his father had moved in 1925 to do business. From that background, he humbly grew and rose to assume office at City Hall in 2004.

"Almost the whole of the Central Business District was in darkness. There was not a single functioning toilet and public parks had been turned into dumpsites. Using your mobile phone out of the office was out of the question because it could be snatched. If you needed to answer a short call, all you had to do was face a hedge and get it done," he says.

He says: "The council was collecting Sh3 billion a year and so finances to accomplish my targets were not available. But you don’t need any money to get the streets swept because you have the personnel to do it. You don’t need money to tame street boys from terrorising women."

"I identified areas where I didn’t need money to turn around and got down to business to make a difference. I also tightened revenue collection and today the city collects Sh7 billion a year," he adds.

A strict disciplinarian, Gakuo says the second step was to make sure that rules were adhered to. He says he arrested more than 2,000 people, who were dumping garbage at Uhuru and Central parks.

Said he: "The people were living under the jungle law because standards had not been set. I had to treat them well by making Nairobi hospitable and people have answered by reciprocating my gesture.

Big tasks

That is why you see no more deposits of garbage in the open."

He then spearheaded the heavy tasks of covering the sinkholes, pushing out hawkers and street families from the CBD, fixing the lights, city fountains and broken water pipes.

Then came the greening phase of the city, which is his most visible work, and which he says is far from target.

Gakuo says his career in the Provincial Administration prepared him for the job of a city manager. Having started off as a DO in Malindi in 1976 after graduating from the University of Nairobi, he became a senior DC for most of his working career.

"I can tell you that compared to the central Government, employees at City Hall are more hardworking. I know this because I have served in both places," he says.

But has he done enough? "There is still a lot that needs to be done. The targets are virtually endless. Importantly, many areas in revenue collection still need strengthening. This city must be brought to the standards of Amsterdam by 2050 because it is the hub of East and Central Africa and one of the most important metropolises in Africa," he says.

Gakuo says his latest project is the construction of free drinking water points around the city.

But how has Gakuo survived the topsy-turvy life of City Hall where councillors sort out their differences with fistfights?

"I don’t engage in politics because I’m too busy for that. And when councillors quarrel, I never take sides because that is their business. I do my work and maintain a low profile. That is my style," he says.