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Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) Director General, Lieutenant General Mohammed Badi has revealed that running the affairs of Nairobi County was the most difficult job he has ever been assigned.
Lt General Badi said that he started facing challenges on the first day he reported to work with politicians and cartels who were unhappy with his appointment on his neck trying to cut him down to size after he blocked them accessing public coffers.
Lt General Badi was appointed by former President Uhuru Kenyatta in March 2020 following the establishment of NMS in which former Governor Mike Sonko transferred key county functions to the national government.
"I have been running Nairobi County for the last two years. It has been a challenging job especially if you are a military man and you are given a political position. It was a hot seat since I was running the capital city of Kenya where services had been rundown," he said.
"It's one of the most difficult tasks I have ever been given as compared to the Sierra Leone Peacekeeping Mission. From day one, you start fighting with politicians and those who think they 'own' the city and up to now the fight is not over."
The lieutenant general was speaking during the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme at the High Commission of India Residential Complex in Nairobi yesterday.
The new Indian High Commissioner to Kenya, Namgya C Khampa, who also doubles up as the Ambassador to Somalia and Permanent Representative to UNEP and UN-HABITAT was present.
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According to Lt General Badi, he navigated through the challenges and within a very short time, was able to deliver all the tasks assigned to him. He attributed his success to the ITEC training he received in India while on a military training course.
"President Kenyatta told me that I am a military person and all he wants to see is running water and hospitals in the slums in order to curb Covid infections. I went back to my staff and reminded them that when I was in India, I saw a wall being built within 12 hours and they had 90 days to accomplish those tasks," he said.
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