The ongoing demolition of buildings in and around riparian land is a commendable attempt at restoring the sanity of a country that was fast losing her soul. The nobility of the exercise should not in any way be cushioned by frivolous court orders by those in the wrong.
The courts should also not entertain moves by the corrupt to sanctify their names within the corridors of power. We are at a turning point as a country. And what we do now may define the path of our country for years to come. Because of this, those charged with the mandate to rid our rivers off of encroachers, free our road reserves from the clutches of the corrupt should stand firm and act without fear or favour.
Their only guiding voice should be that of the man elected by millions of Kenyans, who is the President and the still small voice within their hearts and minds.
We are willing them on to stand on the right side of history. Like anything worth it, this clean-up will be messy, noisy and uncomfortable. The public will be affected and inconvenienced by these radical changes.
But when the dust finally settles, and the wounds from this period healed, Kenya will have a chance to start all over again and build herself up on sound ground. Grounds on which the basics of human decency are found.
It will also be known that both the big man and the small man on the street must obey the law and no one is immune to order. The demolitions and the promised arrests should not be the end of it.
The powers-that-be should seize the moment and provide housing solutions for the people whose shacks have destroyed, provide reliable public transport to the millions affected once public transportation is banned from the vicinity of central business districts of cities such as Nairobi.
We have a chance to rise from the ashes like the proverbial phoenix, let us rise to the occasion and make things right, if not for us, for our children’s children.
The disorder has been part of us for far too long, it is time we cut it off and look towards a fresh start.
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