You asked for it!

 

 

By PETER WANYONYI

This column congratulates President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta and VP-elect William Ruto. But I’m sorry, guys. Five seconds after the swearing in, your honeymoon will be over.

The country is a mess. Crime is so bad that even police officers have now become regular targets for gun-wielding thugs.

Nairobi is fast turning into little more than a collection of soon-to-be crime victims, and Kiambu — right on the outskirts of the city — is now the murder capital of East Africa.

Services that have traditionally been supplied by municipal and city councils are pretty much non-existent. For instance, water and garbage collection in Nairobi just doesn’t happen anymore.

Across the country, mounds of rotting garbage litter virtually every town centre, and stench is one thing that unifies us all now.

Granted, many of these services will be offered by the new county governments. But we all know that the president is the law in Kenya — as in most of Africa. President Uhuru needs to put his foot down determinedly, bash county heads together and ensure that these services are delivered to taxpayers.

It is a good thing that the new president is a wealthy man, and his deputy isn’t exactly in need of pocket change either. This means they have no incentive to improve their bank accounts at our expense.

Which is why they should get to work and fix the country quickly and remember to kick thieving governors where it hurts most.