What good is he to us?

In theory, when I plan to build a house I must obtain certain permits from the Nairobi City County Government. Before these permits are granted, the county government will inspect my plans keenly. If they have been properly made, and if they meet the required legal, engineering and safety standards, those permits shall be issued after the payment of the necessary fees. As soon as I break ground on my building, the county government should keep a beady eye on the construction, to guarantee that my fidelity to the conditions of the permits remains true. In order to protect myself from accusations that my fidelity has wavered, I will hire professionals to oversee the construction. I may even retain the services of my architect to guarantee that my vision for the building remains true.

The theory is sound. The reality is death and destruction on a massive scale. Not all construction in Nairobi City is unsound. Quite likely most of it is sound. What is truly unsound is the manner that the county government is run. The rot that pervades the county government's departments has ceased to have any shock value; it has become the norm to expect that the county government is corrupt, that permits are issued upon the payment of massive bribes, that bribes are always on hand to smooth over the inspection process, and that no one cares when construction crews and innocent bystanders die when buildings collapse. He may not be personally engaged in the corruption riddling his government, but if there is someone to blame for the rot it is the Governor of Nairobi City County. We are way beyond excuses.

I don't know what the county government plans to do about the rot in its corridors; it's seniormost lawyer has just been indicted by the President and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission as the prime suspect in a multimillion shilling corruption scam after all. The last time a building collapsed in Nairobi City, the governor and his government promised that things would change. Only children and the naive believe them anymore, though I am quite sure even children no longer heed the promises of their government.

Uhuru Kenyatta has boldly grasped a nettle, needles and all, and accused even senior members of his government of corruption. He has asked them to step aside, though we would have preferred resignations all round, as investigations unfold. The governor seems not to grasp this simple executive fact. It is time he published his own list of the corrupt - and fired them. If they are innocent, the civil settlements they may win in the courts will be surely less than the amount we will spend in burying the dead. If he cannot do this, if he cannot sweep out his Augean stables, what good is he to us?

Promises won't bring the dead back to life. Promises won't hold corrupt county government officials to account. Promises won't erase the stain of being governed by the incompetent and the corrupt from our psyche. The only thing that we are want from our government is that it keeps its promises. We don't want more promises. We are tired of its promises. We want action. Those who took bribes, those who failed to properly supervise the construction of the fallen building, and those who gave approvals when they shouldn't have, should all be fired. It is what we want. It is what we expect.