Hard task fitting Mike Sonko into Nairobi metropolis

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko during one of his tours of the CBD in 2018. [File, Standard]

As a metropolitan zone, Nairobi is big in Africa and ranks between number four and seven in population size. Its economic muscle is close to that of Johannesburg in South Africa, Lagos in Nigeria, and Cairo in Egypt. Depending on the occasion and issue, it geo-politically outranks the other three and has the geographical advantage of being next to the Equator.

Boasting the only national park within a metropolitan area in the world, it also enjoys the uniqueness of being a home to United Nations offices, which turns Nairobi into a diplomatic hub that others cannot claim. They also do not have Sonko, whose whole mark is ability to challenge accepted conventions. There is something Donald 'Trumpish' about Sonko.

Trump and Sonko have common things that annoy the elite. First, they are both 'bling' politicians, extremely rich by their local standards, experts at media manipulation, and enjoy being unconventional. Second, both are crudely brilliant in petty politics, have mastered the rules of the electoral game better than the elite could imagine, and shocked their way to power in 2017 using base anti-establishment appeals.

Initially, the establishments thought institutional safe-guards would contain them, each having an establishment deputy, but this turned out to be a philosophical mirage.

Third, the two became administrative wrecking crews, imposing their will. Both would get excited, tantalizing men and women of establishment before hiring them only to engage in unceremonious firing and besmirching the reputations of “respected” officers.

The city

Sonko is governor of the largest and wealthiest metropole in Eastern Africa. That strength enables Nairobi to survive Sonko. Since extra-continental interests find Nairobi the most convenient place to place their media and other operations in order to reach the rest of the continent, Sonko’s antics get special attractions.

Sonko has challenges fitting into Nairobi’s sophistry and has limited understanding of its operations at the national and county levels. His disdain for the city manifests itself in different ways, among them, his refusal to live in the city. He lives in Machakos County, Mua Hills, and commutes to Nairobi.

The governor believes he can do away with almost anyone and deliberately fails to have a deputy governor, after easing Polycap Igathe out. Instead, he mocks Nairobians with jocular suggestions, which he has no intention of implementing. These include the purported appointment of a Canadian and floating names of prominent women that he has no intention of appointing.

Handling expected services in a large metropolitan area is difficult for a person who has little interest in thinking big, particularly on the handling of Nairobi metro transport challenges.

Way out

With Transport CS James Macharia declaring in 2016 that Bus Rapid Transport system (BRT) for Nairobi was impossible, the creation of the Nairobi Regeneration Committee with national, county and industry stakeholders appeared like a way out. This followed Sonko’s decision, in September 2017, to ban matatus in Nairobi’s CBD that created the transport havoc.

With the initial co-chairs of the Nairobi Regeneration Committee being Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala and Sonko, there was hope because members comprised related transport stakeholders that include matatu operators, cabinet secretaries, top bureaucrats and such State House functionaries as Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita.

Despite the fanfare and promises with which it was launched, the Nairobi Regeneration Committee quickly became dysfunctional and almost secretive.

There were dramatic activities such as demolitions of illegal constructions and promised garbage clean-up, but the interest declined in prominence. Sonko appears to have lost interest in the Regeneration Committee since he could not control it.

After deputy co-chair, Mr Igathe, left service, Sonko quickly appointed former Nairobi City planner John Gakuo, who did not last long. What was worse, the Regeneration team got into personal altercations such as when Sonko and Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho engaged in accusations and counter accusations.

Sonko went missing in Regeneration activities like the Ministry of Transport's idea of BRT experimenting with car-less days for Nairobi. Once again, the ministry put the experiment on hold, as it sought to get its house in order. Getting Sonko on board, or getting him to fit in, is part of the order.

Prof Munene teaches History and International Relations at USIU