Constitutional lawyer Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi weighed in on the appointment of the Nairobi River Commission which was domiciled in the office of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Ahmednasir said that despite the appointment of the commission in February, not much progress had been made to restore the river.
“Good people...what happened to the Nairobi River Commission? Creating the Nairobi River Commission was an environmental masterstroke by President Williams Ruto. It fits so well with his climate change crusade on the global stage.
“But the potency of the commission was diluted in two ways. One, the appointment of Baba Yao and commissioners of his ilk was a poignant signal that the government probably wasn't that serious after all,” he said.
According to the Grand Mullah, the commission should also have been domiciled in the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry.
“Second, to domicile the commission in the office of the deputy president and not in the Environment ministry was another big mistake.
“President Ruto should know what gets his deputy's adrenaline going and what he can deliver with remarkable ease. Scaring Azimio, checkmating Hon Raila, grassroots mobilisation in Central Kenya, chasing cartels from the coffee sector etc. are some of his pet projects,” Ahmednasir started.
During the launch of the commission, President Ruto said that much work had to be done to turn murky streams into a river of cool water.
“This state of affairs must come to an end and the unsafe and unhealthy environmental situation must be corrected to restore Nairobi to its true identity.
“We have resolved that the city must not only reclaim its glorious reputation as Africa’s green city in the sun but must also live up to its ancestral identity as the river of cool, fresh and safe water,” he said.
President Ruto stated that nothing symbolises the regrettable environmental degradation in the city better than the rivers which have become channels of murky and toxic streams.