Nairobi County Executive compromises news reporters from Nairobi news on Sonkos storm of Nairobi water & sewerage company offices.
With 2017 Nairobi Gubernatorial campaigns gaining momentum by day, it has now emerged that section of news editors from various media outlets have been compromised by the Nairobi City County Executive. A point in case is where news editors edit video and changed Senator Sonko’s event of storming Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company over sewer blockages in various parts of Nairobi.
Two weeks ago, thousands of residents and Public Service vehicle operators from Pangani, Mlango Kubwa, Huruma, Mathare and Eastleigh held a very big demonstration protesting on the poor state of the roads and blocked sewers in various parts of Nairobi. Attempts by various political leaders to address the residents and PSV operators including drivers and their crew were in vain as they demanded to be addressed by their action-man senator Mike Sonko.
Several leaders including former Starehe MP Bishop Margret Wanjiru had a very rough time in addressing the angry residents and operators who were demanding answers on the issues they had raised. When Sonko received the news that he was urgently needed to address the matter and out of his tight schedule, he made his way to address them and more so to share with them what plans he had over the poor state of Nairobi roads and blocked sewer system.
On his arrival, Sonko who received overwhelming welcome from thousands of local residents as well as operators did not disappoint them. In his address, he told the cheering crowd that he is going to constitute a committee of 2 leaders from each area to resolve the raised issues amicably and promised an urgent action within the day on condition that the operators called off the strike and resume duty.
The PSV operators called off the strike immediately and resumed duty. Immediately the committee of 8 members was constituted, Sonko in the company of the committee members called the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure who agreed to address the issues with the urgency it deserved.
The CS later convened a meeting at the ministry’s board room and engineers and contractor led by the Director General Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) were dispatched to the affected areas to start repairing all the pathetic roads. It was after the meeting that Sonko and the committee then tried to contact the Nairobi Water and Sewerage company MD Eng. Gichuki who did not respond to calls and even SMS for more than 5 hours. This forced them to proceed to the MD’s offices to seek for solution to the sewer problems. On reaching, the MD attempted to avoid Sonko and his committee and on realizing that the MD was evading holding a meeting with them, it was at that stage that Sonko lost his tempers and started inquiring from other Directors why the MD was refusing to see them.
A short argument ensued between the other Directors and Sonko and the MD finally agreed to listen to their grievances. After a meeting that lasted for close to two hours, the MD and his Directors agreed to dispatch a team of engineers to visit the affected areas to unblock the sewers.
While Sonko and his team of eight representatives were in the MD’s offices with other Directors trying to resolve the issues affecting Nairobi residents, the Chief of Staff to the Nairobi County and a close associate of Governor Evans Kidero who was recently arrested by the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission officers as he attempted to bribe Sonko called the Director Operation Nairobi Water & Sewerage Company and instructed him to mobilize almost the 200 staff majority from one community who were on duty within the offices and incited them that Sonko had stormed the offices with goons and that they attempted to break into the MD’s office.
When Sonko left the MD’s office after the meeting ended, the Nairobi Water Staff demanded an apology from Sonko why he stormed their MD’s office and causing disturbances. Sonko addressed the angry, charged and incited staff members and refused to apologize and clarified that his visit was for the benefit on Nairobi people who have suffered enough and affected by blocked sewer.
In a strange twist of events, the charged crowd who initially attempted to heckle Sonko changed their minds and instead cheered him throughout his speech. As he was leaving the compound Sonko was overheard saying “If they don’t repair the sewer in the next 24hrs we are going to come back to this office with all the residents of the affected areas and see what the incitted staff will do
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