KENDO: Governor Simba, roar to restore order

Pandemonium is what it would be if it rained heavily at midday during the market day on Sunday, at Riosiri in South Mugirango subcounty. It would be mayhem on any other day in Rongo and Kisii. The three towns are anarchic.

Simba Arati arrived eight months ago, roaring like a lion. He paraded staff, day after day, at Kisii Municipal Stadium, to announce the arrival of a governor whose middle name means change. 

The hope of order in the heart of Gusiiland, the highland of plenty, is about to abort unless Simba recalls the promise of restoration.

Simba needs to stop too much shouting without tangible results. Too much motion without movement. Optimists saw Governor Arati as the personification of order – the discipline Kisii county needed to reboot. 

After rubbishing the legacy of his predecessor, the second government of Kisii county seems stranded in the middle of fading hope. The dismissal of Governor James Ongwae's record was anchored on exhibits of malfunction and over-establishment. But 250 days later, roaring Simba is yet to restore the hopes of the hardworking Abagusii people.

The performance is underwhelming. Soon, there will be disillusionment with the leadership of the former councillor and MP from Nairobi. The carpetbagger's record, so far, has not proved equal to the roar.

Simba's silence as anarchy reigns in Kisii town is loud. The irony is pregnant. The more things change, the more they remain the same. The situation is getting worse – from indiscipline of traders to vehicular mayhem.

In Kisii, motorists get stranded in the jam for hours, without hope of the anarchy ebbing. The permanent blockade of motorcycle riders is an eyesore. Residents seem to have learnt to live with the indiscipline of the operators of public service vehicles.

Motorists find it faster to get to Migori, from Nairobi, through Chebilat-Oyugis-Rodi Kopany, and Rongo, than confront the Kisii town mayhem. 

The diversion takes away business from Kisii town, especially from sellers of agri-products along the Kisii-Rongo road.

The chaotic parade of hawkers is anarchic. People sell anything, anywhere, anytime,and at their own prices. Buyers do not know where to get what. 

Everything sellable in a market is cluttered around town. Livestock sellers will soon move closer to vegetable vendors. Chicken sellers will find room near cereal dealers. Here, anything goes.

But the future Kisii city is not alone in disorder. Riosiri market, on the border of Kisii county and Migori county, illustrates the chaos in market centres.

Governor Arati and Migori Governor Ochilo Ayako should visit Riosiri-Kosir market on a Sunday, at midday, to taste the mayhem. The visit will gain a dramatic high if it rains. The muddle of mud and madness will show the governors the need to rethink municipal management.

Kisii town, Riosir-Kosir and Rongo are mirrors of trading madness. The insanity in Kisii town, the most populous of the three urban centres, is spreading in the neighbourhood. Kisii has infected Rongo, Riosiri, Awendo and Migori towns. 

In Rongo, like in Riosiri, traders sell anything, anywhere, anytime, and at any price. Fish vendors struggle for space along dusty roads and dingy alleyways, as mitumba hawkers and sim card sellers compete for attention.

The recent Migori vehicular crash, in which nine people, many of them motorcycle riders, died, signals spreading mayhem. A way must be found to contain boda boda riders. It is in their interest to prove they deserve the letters of good conduct some of them may be holding.

Governor Ochilo Ayako appreciates the heads-up on this, but Governor Simba Arati is yet to pick up his phone to hear about the infectious mayhem.