By Albert Nyakundi Amenya aka The Banana Peddler
“The hottest part of hell should be reserved for the good men and women who keep quiet in the face of moral crisis” – John F. Kennedy.
I want to take this opportunity to thank Nairobi governor H.E. Mike Mbuvi Sonko for kicking off the demolition of illegal structures erected in riparian lands as promised. Your Excellency, with people like you, this country if guided properly may not be economically, politically and socially inert. East End Mall was earmarked for demolition and it has fallen. It therefore confirms that my governor buttresses his promises by actions. You deserve to be drenched with the waters of accolades.
Thank you Sir for letting land grabbers and criminals know that their steps are being watched very closely and that their evil days are numbered. Thank you for letting them know that they are no longer relevant in the scheme of things in Kenya. Thank you for fighting for the masses because that is what they elected you to do. Thank you for inspiring pride for among the people of Nairobi and for confirming that you are indeed the anointed ombudsman for development.
The enthusiasm and passion that governor Sonko has shown in the course of fighting cartels are proof positive of his commitment and willingness to end corruption in Nairobi. Nairobi County needs to be deconstructed beyond surface indications. Without a doubt, governor Sonko is an apostle of democratic change. Love him or hate him, he remains Sonko. Only those who hate his guts, spartan discipline and incorruptibility are the ones who are quick to infuse his past and track record with mud.
Kidero’s regime was a trial and failure. He looted the county to near zero. Governor Sonko inherited a county under Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Under him, the comatose county has miraculously resuscitated. Sonko was a governor on a rescue mission. His entry has afforded Nairobi county political stability and competent financial management.
As a who leads by example, Sonko has created a thriving and competitive business environment by repairing roads, equipping county hospitals with modern equipment, provide uninterrupted clean water supply.
Sonko’s past has prepared him for the future. Although tough-spoken, he is a highly principled and firm man. Unlike his predecessor governor Kidero, Sonko does not have huge mansions and he owns no single tall building in the CBD. A part from his Machakos home, he has no houses and flats in Nairobi. He is not given to vainglory and greed. He owes none of the banks in Kenya and he is not known to have sat on the board of any.
Governor Sonko’s years of rejection have tapered him into a firebrand that Nairobians cannot afford to ignore if they truly desire genuine change and economic progress. Those idiots who judge him with his past are at best indulging in arrogant ignorance because no matter how squalid a man’s yesterday is, his tomorrow is squeaky clean. Tomorrow is always a brand new page and it all depends on what you elect to write on it.
Sonko is a great man. He is guiltless of allegations being heaped on him by corrupt cartels who wanted to eat the county empty. The mountains cartels are making out of the molehill of his past have shamelessly elected to be deceptive. They know well he is the man of the moment but they are doing everything outside the books to stop him. They know he is here to rescue our great county by tackling insecurity, corruption and revamp its economy. The Holy book is right, there is time for everything. Sonko is the messiah my county people have been yearning for.
Sonko is tested and proven. He is reputed not to be skittish or indecisive about his responsibility when it is incumbent on him to act. When called upon to deal with cartels, he acts with speed of light. He is very quick to decide on the next course of action.
Unquestionably, what some see as the ‘dark’ side of Sonko is invariably the epitome of his abounding patriotism, energy and courage. Obviously, Mike Mbuvi Sonko has been misunderstood. But show me one great soul that traversed this earthly plane that was never misunderstood. Ralph Waldo Emerson explained that it is not so bad to be misunderstood because Jesus Christ of Nazareth was misunderstood. Pythagoras was misunderstood. Martin Luther was misunderstood. Copernicus was misunderstood. Isaac Newton was misunderstood. Galileo Galilei was misunderstood. Socrates was misunderstood and above all, Emerson added that to be great is to be misunderstood, the same thing Adam pointed out to Orlando, in Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’: “Know you not, master, to some kind of men, their graces serve them but as enemies? No more do yours; your virtues, gentle master are sanctified and holy traitors to you. Oh, what a world is this, where what is comely envenoms he that bears it?”
Sonko’s traducers dare not disprove his sterling performance since he took over county leadership notwithstanding the several orchestrated blatant falsehoods being bandied about to demonize him. Sonko remains a man of courage and an incorruptible Kenyan with avowed commitment to sanitize our messed up county.
albertamenya@yahoo.com
(The writer sells bananas on the streets of Kisii town)
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