Uhuru Kenyatta: A poor legacy at the Local Government Ministry

I write this with a heavy heart, but I believe the truth needs to be stated as it is. Otherwise, we Kenyans will continue fooling ourselves that we have leaders in high positions interested in our welfare yet we don’t have them. The disagreements by PNU and ODM over the naming of a huge 40-member cabinet is a case in point. But that is a topic for another day.

The subject of my post today is motivated by the recent fiasco in the form of the Muthurwa bus stage and the transport chaos that continues to affect residents of Nairobi’s Eastlands estates. The master architect of this myopic plan appears to be none other than the local Government Minister Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta.



Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta. In 2002, KANU presented him to Kenyan voters as a “young” visionary Presidential candidate. Photo credit: www.africanpress.wordpress.com

Lets just take a moment not only to look at his obviously shortsighted traffic plan for Nairobi, but critically also evaluate his background and leadership credentials. We need to do this because the two aspects have a strong bearing on the present transport crisis.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been looking at the chaos that Uhuru unleashed on Nairobi residents in the guise of decongesting the city, and I’ve concluded that he does not have what is takes as a leader to add value to the local government Ministry.

According to various statements carried in the mainstream media, blog discussions and ordinary conversations with people affected by the traffic chaos, there’s a widespread belief that is not being said so loudly. That Hon. Uhuru has no idea the suffering Eastlands commuters are going through because he has never used public transport in his entire 47 years of existence!

Now, this might seem outrageous at first glance, but after careful consideration, I believe this to be true.

Picture this: the man is the son of the first president of Kenya the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. He was born in 1961 when his father was already Prime Minister. Three years later, his father became President of an independent Kenya and remained so till his demise in 1978.

You can imagine the perks and comforts that go with living at the State house for most of your childhood. Am talking about things like being chauffeur-driven to school with state security in tow. Even after Daniel arap Moi took over as Head of State, I highly doubt whether this lifestyle changed much considering that Mzee Kenyatta was immensely wealthy at the time of his death and today, the Kenyattas remain one of the wealthiest families in Kenya.

Simply put, for a person who has probably never had to endure the rigors, frustrations and pains of using a Matatu, Uhuru is least qualified to be making policy for lots of Kenyans who use public transport on a daily basis. The decision to restrict matatus to Muthurwa resulting in thousands of Kenyans walking long distances to work clearly shows the lack of empathy by Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta. I believe a Matatu trip from Buru buru estate to Muthurwa, might be a very liberating and enlightening experience for the Minister. :-)

Uhuru's local governance vision

Nonetheless, I’ve been following his statements as a Minister, waiting to glean some revolutionary ideas on managing our local authorities and I’ve ended up disappointed. Sad to say, but the reality is that the man has not shared a vision, direction nor articulated a well thought-out decongestion plan for Nairobi traffic. What we are seeing is a haphazard implementation of some rookie ideas revolving around Muthurwa market.


Traffic Jam in Nairobi. Photo credit: www.mambogani.com

For a man who presented himself in the 2002 elections as a promising fresh pair of hands if elected President, there’s apparently no difference between himself and the political dinosaurs he was angling to replace. In those elections, he offered his youth as a presidential credential, a sign that he represented a new generation of leadership. Unfortunately, this has hardly been seen in the last 7 years that he has been in the national limelight.

This is not the first time Uhuru has held the local government portfolio. Former President Moi appointed him to that position back in 2001 when he was preparing the man for his unexpected presidential bid in 2002. And even then, Uhuru left no legacy worth talking about at the ministry. Why then should we be surprised when he starts off on the wrong foot at the same Ministry 6 years later?

Since 2002 when Uhuru ran for president, am yet to see anything convincing validating Uhuru’s leadership credentials or tested experience in the management of public affairs. The dwindling fortunes of the once mighty KANU party (he remains Chairman), his poor performance as Leader of opposition in the last parliament and the recent Muthurwa transport crisis lends credence to this.

The Uhuru situation captures very well the inherent leadership contradictions prevalent in Kenya. When we elevate individuals to high office awed by their pedigree names without due consideration to merit, ability or vision, we end up paying a very heavy price for the resulting incompetence. Ordinary Kenyans are today going through an extremely stressful and hurting period in our nation's history because of such poor leadership.

In conclusion, I firmly believe that Uhuru should ultimately leave the running of the City to elected officials at the City Hall. After all, why do we have Councilors drawing 85,000/= each and a Mayor earning over Ksh. 200,000 every month?

These are the people Nairobians elected to provide ideas and directions on how the city should be managed. They are not decorations to fulfill constitutional requirements. For heavens sake, they are using our money and because of this, we deserve the best service possible for every coin we pay them. Where are you Mayor Godfrey Majiwa?

As usual, am open to readers’ views and comments on this post.