On 21 November 2018, two separate scenes in Kenya pointed to the same public mood: people were tired of disorder and were willing to back firm enforcement. One came from a morning commuter train into Nairobi’s city centre. The other unfolded in Ndeiya, Kiambu County, where residents confronted a neighbour they accused of selling cannabis sativa.
Passengers interviewed on the train said they did not mind the temporary squeeze of crowded rail travel if the police and the National Transport and Safety Authority kept up the crackdown on lawless public service vehicles. Their view was that the operation would restore sanity on the roads, even if it meant walking longer distances to and from work for a while.
In Ndeiya, the residents’ anger was directed at a middle-aged man they accused of peddling bhang and damaging the mental health and future of children in the area. Despite what the column described as fierce threats from the suspect, the protesters told him to stop selling the drug or move away.
The writer noted that such a confrontation could easily have turned violent, including mob justice or an attempt to burn the suspect’s home. Instead, the crowd pressed its point without that escalation, which was presented as a gain for law and order.
The column used those episodes to argue that Kenyans have repeatedly shown support for strict rules when public safety is at stake. It pointed to the enforcement of the “Michuki Rules” under then Transport Minister John Michuki some years ago, when matatu operators resisted by pulling vehicles off the roads and many people walked to work and school rather than accept unsafe transport.
That earlier moment, the piece said, gave legitimacy to the Highway Code and showed that the public can stand behind tough enforcement when it is consistent. It also argued that President Kenyatta had recently shown a preference for a government that is judged less by television appearances and more by whether citizens actually feel the effects of public service.
The article said Kenyans have also rejected those who destroy young lives through narcotic drugs, and it framed community rejection of harmful behaviour as something with deep historical roots. In modern Kenya, however, that responsibility has been handed to law enforcement agencies and the Judiciary, both of which rely on the law as their main tool.
Even so, the column said there are contradictions in how those institutions carry out that duty. It singled out the traffic police, the lower courts, and their supervisors as the main test of commitment, and urged public servants to follow the President’s lead by building legitimacy through consistent action rather than media visibility.
Mr Kiraithe is the Government Spokesman.
