In Sonko’s clueless moment, choking city got a kiss of life

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko when he appeared before the Senate County Public Account and Investment Committee over audit queries at Parliament on July 15, 2020. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Nairobi makes a mockery of liberal democracy. In a generation that claims to be democratic, you expect the seat of the national government to be the highest symbol of democratic practice. The people decide how public affairs in their metropolis should be managed. They also choose the managers. 

Persons elected to such office are expected to understand that they have entered into a social contract with the electorate. They become the people’s servants, in spite of their elevated standards of living. But Nairobi has consistently defied this credo over the decades. From the old days of the City Council, democratically elected leadership has failed the people of the city. It is our big irony that Nairobi seems to work only when its government does not reflect the voter’s will.