Finally the Nairobi Mayoral battle came to an end after a deal was brokered between the two warring sides the ODM and PNU to share power rather responsibilities of running the city council.
It was a rare moment to see the two opposing sides hug in content bearing in mind the fact that Nairobi mayoral elections have always ended up in brawls. It produced heroes to emulate out of a city hall where elections have traditionally been fought with fists fights.
Hope came at around 5 pm, after much deliberations and consultations from both side, Baba Dogo’s ward councilor Geoffrey Majiwa of ODM was sworn in as the new Nairobi mayor to be deputized by his PNU counterpart Kasarani’s ward John Chege.
A power sharing deal was put in place and it was agreed that the key positions of finance, planning, internal audit, public health, education and other committees be shared equally among the ODM and their PNU rivals. PNU is to chair the key positions of Finance and planning while ODM would take care of water and education among the other 16 committees.
Earlier, the presiding officer who also hails from among the ODM fraternity of councilors Mrs. Helen Katangie had a hard time controlling counter accusations from both camps. ODM was accusing PNU for boycotting Monday’s elections insisting that Majiwa had been lawfully declared the winner while PNU insisted on the presiding officer to step down due to bias as she had voted and was from the rival group.
The two sides moved close to exchanging blows after they could not strike an accord only to be calmed down by PNU’s nominated councilor Mr. Mutunga Mutungi and the man that ODM had in mind for deputy mayor, Mr. George Aladwa who stepped in to strike a deal that would end the stalemate.
In one way, the Nairobi mayoral elections reflected what had happened on the 27th of
December. The mayoral elections left the councilors divided in half, Who later stood above their personal interests and arrived at a resolution fast enough to end a crisis that would have ended up in the streets just like the presidential one.
It has produced heroes as a much needed ray of hope shone from the most unexpected quarters to show Kenyans that we can still reduce the stake we have placed on the national political offices rise above our personal interests and save this country we all call home.
It also saved the face of a council that has in the passed been dogged with controversies over how the Mayoral elections are conducted and at times ending up in fights that have put the city hall under spotlight for sometime now.
These is a deed that the two protagonists namely Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki who are fighting for the control of the country to emulate and give Kenyans a peace of mind. It is commendable to see that dialogue can work things out rather than going to the street to flex out muscles for matters that can be resolved in an ample manner. We are calling out to on the two to emulate the councilor’s of Nairobi and let matters of power rest once and for all.
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