Sonko is down, but trust him to use city poor in staging comeback 

He was impeached and sacked as Governor of Nairobi, but Mr Gideon Mbuvi alias Mike Sonko poses a much more corrosive and corruptive influence to Kenya’s democracy.

Mr Mbuvi would not have been Governor of Nairobi, East Africa’s financial and industrial hub and Kenya’s richest county, were it not for his stranglehold on Nairobi’s poor and, consequently, his sanitisation by the now-defunct The National Alliance (TNA).

One, TNA would have been the party of honour and integrity, with its incorruptible, law-respecting cadre of leaders emulated as role models by younger generations ala Chapter 6 of the Constitution.

Electoral exigencies, however, intervened and prevailed. Mr Mbuvi, a prison escapee, a man of questionable character and dubious wealth was cleared to run for Nairobi’s senatorial seat in the 2013 General Election.

What would have been TNA’s identifier as a unique party was expunged from its documents. It was a cold-blooded calculation: Mr Mbuvi’s massive following and money made him an electoral asset for TNA in the capital.

The party sacrificed its soul in exchange for Mr Mbuvi’s supporters and wherewithal. TNA’s successor, Jubilee Party, too embraced Mr Mbuvi as one of its leading lights, despite the misgivings about his wealth and character.

Sonko Rescue Team

Two, as I say, filthy rich Mbuvi is the champion of Nairobi’s dirt poor. His largesse pays school, legal and hospital fees, and funeral expenses as well as buying comforts following fire, flooding, auctions, evictions and other calamities.

However, the foregoing finds illustrative political expression in Sonko Rescue Team (SRT). When Dr Evans Kidero was governor, Mr Mbuvi set up a parallel ambulance and fire service. Why? To show that whenever the county government’s failed, his worked.

He saw no contradiction in a senator setting up personal services to fight public ones. He saw no reason to use his office to champion building or revamping public institutions. 

Instead, Mr Mbuvi brought his wealth to bear by building rival personal enterprises.

It was like saying if the police, hospitals and schools fail, I will provide private security, health care and education. Mr Mbuvi conflated public service with private personal enterprise.

What mattered to Mr Mbuvi was that SRT elevated and sustained his standing among his supporters while making it difficult for Dr Kidero to operate, making him look weak, ineffective and anti-poor.

However, for these services, Nairobi’s poor will kill for Mr Mbuvi. Their appreciation has driven them to polling booths at sunrise in frenzied droves determined to make him senator and governor before mid-day.

Ominous precedent

The only elected person who garnered more votes than Mr Mbuvi in the 2017 General Election was President Uhuru Kenyatta – and his was a national tally. Nairobi’s poor are voting power, Mr Mbuvi’s power and his job security.

Three, Dr Kidero’s struggles emboldened Mr Mbuvi to pour scorn on and belittle university education, PhDs and academic achievement. Mr Mbuvi thinks learning bears no relevance to leadership.

Four, it is why in the lead-up to the 2017 General Election, I argued that Mr Mbuvi’s claim to leadership was pegged to his private fortune. I said it was high time Kenyans discussed how private fortune qualified one for political leadership or of public enterprises.

This question remains relevant and why, five, Mr Mbuvi showed he was out of his depth for the job of Governor of East Africa’s most important metropolis from the get-go in 2017. Why?

He said he would split the docket of governor into two; reserving the political arm for himself and handing the administrative one to the deputy. To me, polls are the legal method of appointment of a county’s chief executive and post-election he or she should focus on managing and leading.

Unfortunately, Mr Mbuvi could not lead a cinema queue. The failings he used to lambast Dr Kidero for, such as uncollected garbage, soon swamped Nairobi.

Thanks to Sonko, the national government set an ominous precedent: It invited itself into the running of a devolved unit.

Sonko is down but not out. He is considering running in the coming by-election and in 2022. He is saying his baggage doesn't count against him, but his base votes for him. 

Still, he is out of his depth.

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