Let’s go back to days of clean, orderly Nairobi

I’m grateful to God to have seen Nairobi when systems were working. There was order in the way things were done.

Eastlands’ premier estates of Kimathi, Harambee and Kariobangi South did not have “extensions”. It was cast on stone that the house had to remain as it was at the time of its completion. Development was actually and truly controlled.

There was Kenya Bus Services, which served all Nairobians with order and reliability. The buses had a strict schedule hence no need or minimal need for private transport. Nairobi did not know the modern cartels that disguise themselves as Saccos. Isn’t it ridiculous that these PSVs are all over our city that drivers and touts take two- or three-hour naps waiting for their turn to load?

Thousands of imported voters who are today residing in the slums and currently at the disposal of politicians for political gigs had no place in Nairobi. The city was those who had something to do; those who had nothing to do, did it elsewhere.

I miss the days of Patrick Shaw, the dreaded cop who’d apprehend a criminal and ask them to leave the city for the village or else they would be on borrowed time.

Garbage trucks were operated by the city council, and the city was spotless clean. Today I dare to hypotheses that the collectors of this garbage are artificially generating more trash to keep themselves in business.

We need to clean up Nairobi, first by electing the right persons in the county assembly, constituencies and governor’s office. The regional police commander must be a committed officer who is proactive in his service to the people. The government must embark on a serious campaign to repatriate all these imported voters and help them to engage in activities that will help to better their lives.

Public transport must be re-examined, where only high-capacity vehicles should be allowed into the CBD. Private motorists must also be discouraged from driving into the CBD to reduce congestion. Touting, shouting and hooting are medieval actions that must not be allowed. Street preachers must also be stopped in efforts to bring down the levels of noise in the CBD.

Joe Mungai, Washington State, USA