Calvince Okoth, popularly known as 'Gaucho,' the self-proclaimed 'Ghetto President,' during an interview at Landi Mawe in Starehe Constituency, Nairobi, on April 21, 2026.
The news about Calvince "Gaucho" Okoth being appointed to the board of Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital has sparked a lot of noise. On the surface, the debate feels like a classic "us vs. them" story. You’ll hear people saying he’s just a kid from the streets who finally got a break. They’ll ask, "Why are we hating on a ghetto boy when the government is already full of people with fake degrees?"
It’s an easy argument to buy into. It feels fair. It feels like rooting for the underdog. But if we’re being honest with ourselves, this isn’t a success story for the slums. It’s a tragedy for the people living there.
To understand why this feels like a gut punch to so many, you have to look at what Gaucho actually represents. In Nairobi, there’s a specific type of person politicians keep on speed dial. They aren’t the community leaders who run after-school programs or the ones helping mothers get clean water. They are the "fixers" — the guys who can round up a crowd of angry young men at a moment's notice.
Gaucho has spent years being that guy. We’ve all seen the videos. This isn’t a secret. We’ve seen him standing in front of cameras, not talking about hospital beds or medicine, but threatening people. We’ve seen him calling on young men to disrupt protests and attack activists.
When people say he "represents" the ghetto, they are doing a huge disservice to the millions of honest, hardworking people in places like Mathare or Kibera. Does he represent the mama mboga who has to close her stall and hide because "the boys" are coming to cause chaos? Does he represent the student who studied by candlelight only to see a man who thrives on violence get a seat in a boardroom?
By making him the face of the "marginalised," we are basically telling every young person in the slums that being a bully is a more viable career path than being a good citizen.
Violent groups
There’s a dangerous trend happening in our politics lately. We’ve started to treat "goons" like a misunderstood demographic that just needs a hug. Even some of our top leaders have suggested we should invite these violent groups to State House for tea and a chat.
Yes, these young men are human. Most of them are victims of a system that keeps them poor and desperate so they can be used as cheap muscle during election cycles. They deserve real jobs. They deserve a way out.
But there is a massive difference between helping someone change their life and rewarding them for their worst behavior. When you give a man with a history of political intimidation a seat on a hospital board, you aren't "uplifting" him. You are validating him. You’re telling him that every stone he ever threw and every person he ever threatened was worth it because it led to a government paycheck.
Let’s talk about Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital. This isn't just some office where you sit and drink tea. It’s a place where life happens — and where, far too often, death happens because of poor management. It’s the hospital for the person who doesn’t have a choice, the person who can’t afford a private clinic.
A board member is supposed to make sure the lights stay on, the doctors are paid, and the patients are treated with dignity. It’s a job for someone with a heart for service and a clean record of helping others.
By putting Gaucho there, the government is sending a very clear message: "We don't care about the quality of your healthcare as much as we care about rewarding our political friends." It turns a sacred place of healing into just another piece of political loot.
The most frustrating part of this whole debate is the excuse that "everyone else in government is bad, so why pick on him?"
Since when did we become so comfortable with failure that we stopped asking for better? If your house is on fire, you don’t bring in more gasoline just because the walls are already burnt. We should be demanding that the people who run our hospitals are the best of the best — regardless of whether they come from a mansion in Muthaiga or a shack in Mukuru.
Brilliant young people
The truth is, there are thousands of brilliant young people in the slums with diplomas and degrees who would give their right arm to serve on a board like that. They are ethical, they are smart, and they actually care about their neighbours. But they don't get the phone call. Why? Because they don't know how to organize a mob. They don't know how to be "useful" in the way Gaucho is.
Gaucho isn't a hero for the poor. He is the ultimate tool for the people who want to keep the poor right where they are. As long as we keep rewarding political violence with government titles, the cycle will never end.
We need to stop being okay with "good enough." We need to stop accepting that "goons" are the only bridge between the streets and the state. The people of Nairobi deserve a hospital board that cares about their health, and the youth of the slums deserve a role model who shows them that you can rise up without stepping on anyone else’s neck.
Giving Gaucho this seat wasn't an act of mercy. It was an act of cynicism. And until we start demanding character over chaos, we’re all going to keep paying the price.
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This writer is a journalist and a human rights defender. [email protected]
