Nairobi News

HashtagMust ReadNews

Garbage wars: Who will blink first as Sonko takes on Badi, again


The deep-rooted rivalry between Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko and Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) Director General Major General Mohammed Badi has now taken another twist.
This is after the two took their fight to social media with a #UhuruShouldRespectSonko trending in Kenya for the better part of yesterday pushed by Sonko’s supporters.
What started as a post by Governor Sonko on his social media pages of heaps of garbage in Pipeline on Sunday, November 8, 2020 quickly escalated into an exchange between the two offices.
“Nairobi Super Governor who is also the President of the Republic of Kenya and commander in chief of Defence Forces Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta and Saddam Hussein really overworking in Pipeline, Embakasi South constituency. Keep up with the good job,” posted the City Hall boss.
But in a swift rejoinder, NMS accused certain “saboteurs and detractors” of being behind the heaps of solid waste in the capital.
“As saboteurs and detractors heap garbage on timelines, NMS and the people of Nairobi desirous and cognizant of their role in a clean environment are at work each day collecting 3,000 tonnes against meagre kilos collected in the past,” read a post by NMS yesterday with a picture of individuals collecting garbage.
The supremacy battle between the two offices then went a notch higher with the hashtag trending on Twitter as supporters of both leaders went tongs and hammer on each other.
A Twitter user by the name Millicent Omanga @MillieOmanga1 fired the first shot accusing Maj Gen Badi’s administration of carrying out Ruai demolitions in order to advance private interests of the Northlands City project “which is well known who owns it”.
Another user by the name Coolkid @itsCoolkidKE reminded Mr Badi that slum dwellers do not need cabro-pavement as priority but water, electricity and other needs and amenities.
“Militarising our county will be our greatest downfall. How shall we question Badi’s incompetence when we didn’t vote him? He should therefore allow Sonko to work for the electorates,” he wrote.
Another user going by the name Bobo Bobo @Lucywambo14 said, “Badi is a result of poor governance. A leader who is consistently failing and has poor leadership skills.”
“For the past few months, we the people of Nairobi have been subjected to total chaos. Looming disaster. Total disappointment in the name of NMS. The mastermind of this is one Badi,” wrote one Benson Kamau @Ben90700797.
Prof @NjeriNg57923179 said, “Ever since Uhuru imposed NMS on us, things have been retrogressing. We want Sonko back.”
However, supporters of Badi also came out guns blazing backing the NMS DG, saying the President did the right thing in bringing Mr Badi on board.
“Nairobi was better under city council during Kibaki regime, improved a little bit during Kidero’s regime, but lost shape under Sonko. President Uhuru Kenyatta did the right thing by bringing on Maj Gen Badi. Sonko should just work with him and prepare for retirement in 2022,” wrote Abuga Makori EGH, MBE @o….
“In fact, it is Sonko himself who calls Badi names. Have you heard of Badi talking ill of Sonko?” posed Mutant X @mutant_xyz.
Abubakar Ali @sahsama7 wrote, “Respect is paramount to achieving peaceful co-existence. Let Sonko respect Badi and let Badi respect Sonko. You are paid to tarnish and insult people,that is immoral.”
“I though Sonko and Badi agreed to work together. Now I hear Sonko calling Badi Saddam Hussein. Kwani what happened?” asked Derick Munene @Mderick-.
There has been no love lost between Governor Sonko and Maj Gen Badi ever since NMS was established in March to take charge of four county functions of health, transport, public works, utilities and ancillary services as well as county planning and development.

The two leaders have been involved in an on-and-off spat since then with Mr Badi last month warning that he will not take Mr Sonko’s insults for long.