Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko during the Senate hearing in Nairobi on December 17, 2020.
What you need to know:
I don’t know about you but yesterday I welcomed the New Year in a subdued manner knowing full well that if 2021 will be anything like last year, then we are in for very bad times.
It is true that some of us did indeed celebrate with wild abandon as they do at this time every year, mainly because they are guided by the “you-only-live-once” philosophy and they did not pay too much attention to the ravaging coronavirus and all the annoying protocols meant to contain the pandemic. Some people you can’t put down with scares unless and until they are personally affected.
Others celebrated the day, not for any particular reason, but because it has always been done. Some such people cannot say what they did last year, and they aren’t really sure whether the passage of time will bring any more happiness to their lives. They are fond of making New Year resolutions, which they invariably break the very first week, but heck, who really cares?
Who, indeed, cares about the antics of politicians, the sanctimonious preachments of hypocrites in high office, or the demagoguery that is often mistaken for leadership?
A third class of Kenyans belongs to the older generation, whose concerns are a lot more selfish. At this time every year, they are always reminded that they are a year older and they are not happy about it because they know where all this is heading to.
However, at the end of the day, they must come to terms with the fact that mortality is a human condition and life must go on. As time goes by, they realise that even keeping in step to a simple dance routine like Jerusalema has become a little difficult, which is when it dawns on them that they are growing old.
And then, of course, there are the children. These ones are perilously perched on the horns of a dilemma: Do they really want to go back to school after a nine-month hiatus caused by corona, or should they continue to do the things they have been doing at home—nothing?
The government must make it clear that going back to school is not optional, otherwise the rate of truancy will be truly mind-boggling.
One thing must be understood early; few schools in Kenya are equipped to handle the pandemic and the danger of these institutions becoming Covid-19 hub is quite real. Indeed, in the end, the matter will have to be left to the Almighty, for who else can stop eight-year-olds mixing it up at play?
What children of that age will cover their noses with a piece of cloth all day? Unless herd immunity kicks in and a vaccine is widely distributed to the most vulnerable, then we are in for a very interesting year.
Rattled a snake
Covid-19 is not going anywhere soon and what they call the “new normal” will become part of our lives for the foreseeable future.
However, life is not all gloom. Besides the malevolent bug that has made it difficult for everyone in the world during the year, a couple of very nice things also happened here in Kenya and abroad to lighten things up.
I hope Americans will forgive me for poking my nose into their affairs, but the defeat of Donald J. Trump by President-elect Joe Biden last year was a monumental feat. Never mind that Mr Trump may never admit that he lost the election to a far better man; the fact is, he will forever remain the only American president whose defeat induced a collective sigh of relief across the world. That is no mean achievement.
Here in Kenya, two governors suffered the same fate, not through election loss, but by being ejected from office because they were found unsuitable by fellow politicians.
In January last year, Mr Ferdinand Waititu was shown the door by members of the Kiambu County Assembly, on provable allegations of corruption, an outcome that was given official imprimatur by the majority in the Senate.
I can’t think of anything major that Mr Waititu did for those who elected him with a huge majority in Kiambu but I could be wrong on this one. Some must have benefited hugely during his short tenure, and they are probably the ones urging him to try his hand at governing Nairobi.
If Mr Waititu was a huge mistake, Mr Gideon Mbuvi Sonko was a grave error. An insecure leader with a healthy ego and pedestrian tendencies, it was just a matter of time before the powers-that-be got tired of Mr Sonko and they did not even pretend to be fair while booting him out.
In the words of the late John Michuki, the former governor rattled a snake and did not even notice when it bit him. Now he is out there blaming everyone but himself for his well-deserved ouster — MCAs, senators, courts of law, cartels and the Deep State.
For the rest of us, the comedy hour is over until a new sheriff hits town in February or March.
Mr Ngwiri is consultant editor; andrewngwiri@gmail.com
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