The unending crisis of Sonko’s Nairobi County

Right now, Mike Mbuvi Sonko, the governor of Nairobi County, is facing corruption charges. He is accused of misappropriating KSh381 million. If Sonko is found guilty and kicked out of office, there is no deputy governor to replace him. The former DG Polycarp Igathe resigned last year, citing that Sonko is a difficult person to work with.

Another thing is the crisis at the Nairobi County Assembly. MCAs fight almost every day, trying to impeach Speaker Beatrice Elachi. These MCAs love the cat-and-mouse game of chasing one another. They don’t realize how much time and energy they are wasting with non-issues.

When crises pile up like this, you realize that the leader in charge is the problem. In this case, Sonko is the problem. If he had good leadership and management skills, Nairobi would normally be operating.

The county should be stable for things to work. We should not hear these fights; they are crippling the governance of the county government. Political stability is essential to development.

Leaders like Sonko, Waititu, and Joho are ceremonial leaders, not functional per se. They are like the hip hop stars you love the most. If we keep turning to these kinds of leaders, Kenya will take forever to develop.

Kenyans are also to blame for electing non-performers like Sonko. You can see that in a ballot, there are candidates with actual credentials and real work experience in governance, and yet we vote for the non-performers. We, the voters, also have a problem.

It has dawned on people that electing the leader who electrifies your mood and spirit is not enough. You feel happy when you vote for leaders like Sonko, but years down the line, you start realizing that you made a mistake.

I think there should be an electoral college or a board that determines who will become the governor. Even if Sonko stays in power, he needs to establish a network of experienced people to help him govern. Otherwise, this Sonko problem will persist for the next 5 or 10 years.