The chaos that rocked City Hall this week, when Speaker Beatrice Elachi made a return to work after a 13-month forced eviction, was a terrible reminder that Nairobi County remains helplessly and firmly in the hands of rogues.
The MCAs have no sense of shame and spare no thought of their actions.
We condemn the acts of lawlessness and demand action taken on the perpetrators. We cannot countenance a situation where individuals think they own City Hall and can cause mayhem as they so wish without sanctions.
City Hall has traditionally been a hotbed of politics. Elected representatives were never the intelligent and the civilised.
Transition from local authority to county government was meant to change the equation but it seems that the more things change, the more they remain the same.
It remains the domain of reckless and rudderless individuals who do not serve leadership positions.
Not surprisingly, the city is decaying. Infrastructure is appalling and services terrible. Elected leaders and workers are more engrossed with personal pursuits at the expense of service delivery.
The mayhem at City Hall should worry Kenyans. This is the capital city and seat of the national government. What happens at City Hall has a bearing on national leadership, international image and the economy.
A city that is run by ne’er-do-wells ceases to be attractive. It paints a negative impression of the country. Investors and visitors are scared away.
Collectively, those have adverse effects on the economy and overall national growth.
As things stand, City Hall is tottering dangerously towards the cliff. The substantive Speaker cannot work, and therefore, technically, there is no leadership at the County Assembly.
For nearly two years since the exit of Polycarp Igathe, the county has had no deputy governor.
The rumbustious Governor Mike Sonko runs a one-man show and has, lately, sacked more than half of the county executive committee.
Sonko himself is under active investigation and likely to face court charges over corruption. This makes for an eerie situation.
Should anything happen to the governor and, in the absence of a deputy or county Speaker, the county will be thrown into a tailspin.
We need discipline and order at City Hall. And the onus falls on the electorate to change the leadership at the ballot.
The practice of electing just anyone to the county assembly or governor’s parlour must stop. It is a shame that, with a population of around four million, the capital city and regional business hub cannot find quality leaders. Surely, Nairobi deserves better.
For now, we want action on the perpetrators of the chaos and their accomplices. Investigators and the police must seize the masterminds and haul them before the court to face the law.
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