Why Jubilee’s first year in office bears hallmarks of failing State

By Peter KImani

Kenya: By the time you read this, Prezzo UK will have delivered his State of the Nation address, during which, predictably, he will extol the successes of his first year in office.

I think he has succeeded spectacularly in demonstrating how future governments should not be run, so his is a useful cautionary tale.

First off, I should clarify that my assessment of Prezzo UK’s performance is based on the single service I sought from his government over the past one year.

Exactly a year ago, I sought to have a property connected with electricity. A year on, the status remains unchanged. I am still an applicant in a growing queue of nearly 30,000 other Kenyans who are reportedly waiting for power connection.

A decade earlier, this would have been perfectly fine, only that Prezzo Kibaki had left a different kind of legacy, which most Kenyans must look back on with a sense of nostalgia.

Then there is the story of runaway insecurity. Watching TV footage of Ngong and Kiserian residents who cannot open their doors even during the day dramatised the sense of helplessness that Kenyans have been subjected to.

No matter what explanations are provided by those in charge, a Government that cannot guarantee the right to life and property to its citizens, or provide basic infrastructure like electricity to those who need it, is a failed State.

But those in power will not understand such language. One can only succeed by reminding them that 30,000 vote-bearing Kenyans is too big a number to antagonise, especially if that 50 per cent plus one rule still persists.