Johnson Sakaja Responds To Nairobian Decrying Poor Road, Drainage In Pipeline: "No Quick Fix"

• The Nairobi resident called out Governor Johnson Sakaja for failing to honour his promise to fix a road and drainage system Pipeline area
• Sakaja responded to her saying that the rehabilitation project had been contracted and that tweets would not address the legal hurdles delaying works
• A section of Kenyans online found the governor's response weightless and challenged him to fulfil his promise

Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja's response to a city resident's reminder of his pledge to fix poor roads and drainage systems in Pipeline area has ignited mixed reactions.

Pipeline estate Nairobi

Pipeline area in Embakasi, Eastlands Nairobi is popularly known for its numerous storey apartments closely built next to each other to host the large populace.

This scenario ordinarily results to pressure on few available resources like sewage systems, water and power supply, roads and drainage system.

A Kenyan print journalist and a resident of Nairobi took to his Twitter/X account to remind the governor that he had promised to fix a section of a road in the area during the campaigns, but close to a year later, nothing had happened.

What was Johnson Sakaja's promise to Pipeline?

The Kenyan sarcastically asked netizens to show the city county governor some love for failing to honour his pledge to his voters and Nairobi dwellers at large.

"If you see this, tag @SakajaJohnson show him some love for the place he lied he’d fix. If you see this, tag @SakajaJohnson, show him some love for the place he lied he’d fix," posted Hanifa Safi.

The governor who was tagged on the post did not hesitate to respond to the concerned city resident, telling her that tweets would not help address the situation.

Johnson Sakaja projects

Sakaja, who was elected on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party ticket told the netizen that the road had been contracted and was taking time because of legal processes that could not be solved online.

"I told you this is being contracted. There’s a procurement process. No quick fix. Tweets don’t hasten legal timelines. Lazima iWork," said Sakaja.

Sakaja's response was not taken lightly by a section of Kenyans online, who perceived it as distasteful.

"Easy to say this when you're staying in Karen and not here. You have been in office for a whole year, pause for a minute and think," Ja Loka said.

Steve Biko Osur challenged the governor to be innovate and alleviate effects of challenges the locals were facing as they waited for transformation of infrastructure.

"Governor, as a leader you need to device solutions even as we await the law. What is so hard in mobilising/ ordering the locals wenye wamachafua hapo kila mtu asafishe kwake (those littering the place to clean their spaces) Will cholera wait for the legal timelines?" He posed.

Benji Ndolo told Sakaja that there was no way out other than fixing the road, drainage system and space where litter was piling.

The governor allocated a large chunk of the KSh 40 billion 2023/2024 Financial Year's budget for Nairobi to the health sector.