Audio By Vocalize
When you take a walk on Nairobi’s Parliament Road and look beneath the Senate building’s signage, emblazoned proudly for all to see, sits the motto: “For the Welfare of Society and the Just Government of the People.”
One imagines honourable members pausing each morning, reading it with solemn reverence, perhaps even shedding a patriotic tear before heading out to do battle for mwananchi. Or perhaps it is simply elegant text; nice to look at, easy to ignore, like campaign promises after elections.
The gap between that lofty inscription and the daily reality of public service is not a gap. It is a deep chasm, complete with echoing voices of frustrated citizens and the occasional bark of a uniformed officer treating a Huduma Centre like a parade ground.
It might seem like a minor detail, but the presence of police in combat fatigue in service halls and buildings paints a picture of a disciplined force in constant combat with its citizens.
