It is Easier to Manage War than Nairobi - Mohammed Badi

Image of Nairobi Metropolitan Services Director-General Mohamed Badi taken on May 16, 2020.
Image of Nairobi Metropolitan Services Director-General Mohamed Badi taken on May 16, 2020.

Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) Director General Mohammed Badi admitted that it is easier to lead the army during the war than manage Nairobi county. 

Speaking at the Indian High Commission on Saturday, September 17, Badi stated that having faced war during the Sierra Leone peace mission in the early 2000s, Nairobi still proved to be a hard nut to crack for him.

The NMS DG noted that the running of the city was nearly impossible owing to the high-octane politics playing out in the background.

Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) Director General, Mohamed Badi speaking at a past event.
Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) Director General, Mohamed Badi speaking at a past event.
NMS

"It's one of the most difficult tasks I have ever been given as compared to the Sierra Leone Peacekeeping Mission.

"The job has been challenging, especially if you are a military man and you are given a political position. From day one, you start fighting with politicians and those who think they 'own' the city and up to now the fight is over," he stated

Badi revealed that despite the city being in a dilapidated state, the politicians were not fazed and continued to push their individual interests. Nonetheless, he was keen not to let down his boss, former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The NMS boss intimated that Uhuru entrusted him with Kenya's capital city and expected to incorporate some of the military's strategies in delivering his mandate.

"President Kenyatta reminded me that I am a military person and all he wants to see is running water and a hospital in the slums in order to curb the pandemic.

"I recounted to the staff of my time in India, where I saw a wall being built within 12 hours and told them that they had 90 days to accomplish those tasks," he narrated.

The Director-General has already begun handing over some of the operations to the new county government led by Governor Johnson Sakaja.

NMS term officially expired on August 24 upon which the entity was mandated to hand over its functions in three months to ensure continuous service delivery.

However, during his swearing-in, Sakaja hinted at maintaining the service but as a department in the county government.  However, Sakaja has already recovered some functions including the revenue collection system.

NMS Director General Mohamed Badi Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaj addressing MCAs-elect at a hotel in Mombasa on Saturday, September 3, 2022
NMS Director General Mohamed Badi Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja addressing MCAs-elect at a hotel in Mombasa on Saturday, September 3, 2022.
Johnson Sakaja
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