In Michuki, what you saw is what you got, no less

From William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night we read that: "Some people are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em".

In the departed Environment minister John Njoroge Michuki, all three parts are true. The President’s swift tribute said a lot and summed up the life and times of a man loved and hated depending on which side of the ridge of efficiency and effectiveness you stood.

President Kibaki received news of the demise of his longtime friend and minister, describing him as a focused public servant, determined businessman, and issue-oriented politician, "true family friend, and dependable ally."

Powerful and heartfelt tributes do not come better than this. Even delegates attending the meeting in Nairobi on Monday during the 12th Special Session of the United Nations Environmental Programme Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum at the UN headquarters in Gigiri noticed the absence of their host minister.

Very few people in the world can boast of having worn as many hats as the man from Kangema who spent his early working life as a colonial District Officer and rose to become an Undersecretary. Michuki joined the administration at a time Kenyans knew nothing more than the brutality by imperial forces under the colonial governors.

Some people claim that it is this colonial mentality – having been schooled, raised and worked under the colonial Government – that Michuki carried over his life becoming a firm and tough-talking man, who brooked no-nonsense, more like the colonial governors.

Granted we are all human and are prone to slip at some point or other in our lives, Michuki was, regrettably, linked to the infamous raid on the Standard Group offices in 2006, whose report – the Shadrack Kiruki-led inquiry – is gathering dust on a shelf somewhere, you have to give the man his due.

The gusto with which he tackled the indiscipline, arrogance and excesses of the billion-shilling matatu industry in particular, and entire transport sector in general, endeared him to the public. In Michuki, the long harassed commuters, pedestrians, and other road users, found an unflinching advocate. The Michuki Rules were born, torn socks and all!

Grew some teeth

Michuki remained firm even as matatu operators called a national strike, paralysing public transport. Scenes of people trekking long distances to work, or sleeping on pavements for lack of transport were witnessed in every corner of the country. Some commuters escaped death from hanging dangerously atop packed, moving commuter trains.

The Rules won

He was to later serve as Environment minister during which time the National Environmental Management Agency grew some teeth and Nairobi River stopped being a carrier of sludge and disease. He was also emphatic that all squatters in the Mau water tower troop out with or without compensation.

Years earlier, Michuki, nicknamed Kimendero (one who tramples over) when he served in the Provincial Administration, a long stint as Assistant minister, Permanent Secretary, and chairman of Kenya Commercial Bank, as well as on several boards.

His greatest public triumph was his crackdown on the notorious Mungiki sect that had the rest of Kenya cowering from their brutality. The ensuing mass crackdown shocked everyone, with loud murmurs of extra-judicial killings as the body count and disappearances became the order of the day.

The public fought firmly from Michuki’s corner and accorded the walking stick-wielding octogenarian, plain speaking minister support in awe at his bravery.

His last official function was the climate change conference in Durban from November 28 to December 9, where he reiterated Kenya’s determination to help reduce the debilitating effects of global warming, but called on the rich countries to boost the efforts of poor nations.

Do his successors ever ponder why they never seem to measure up to the Great Michuki? What lessons can we learn from this administrator’s business and financial acumen that spanned half a century? No docket was too overwhelming, none too small. A job was a job and warranted Michuki’s best effort. Passion. Dedication. Excellence.

Fare thee well.