City Hall, the seat of power in Nairobi County, has seen chaos, running battles and gunshots for many years.
Before devolution, wrangles among councillors were a permanent feature at City Hall, with the brawls on many occasions ending in blows, slaps and kicks.
Leaders went to great lengths to settle political and personal scores, with some hiring goons to mete violence on their rivals.
In 2010, Bahati councillor Benson Kangala’s teeth were broken when a group attacked him during the clamour for the removal of Mayor Geoffrey Majiwa, now Baba Dogo ward representative.
On the promulgation of the Constitution in August 2010, it was hoped that the new leadership positions – a governor with a university degree, a deputy governor and ward representatives – would exorcise the ghost of violence from City Hall.
Unfortunately, the dishonour only got deeper, with councillors passing the infamous baton to ward representatives.
Changing the city council to a county government and welcoming more educated leaders has not changed the image of the county.
Though the administration of Mr Evans Kidero brought some semblance of peace, Nairobians were still treated to ugly disputes between the governor and ward representatives or even in the assembly itself.
However, matters turned uglier when Mr Mike Sonko became governor in 2017.
A month barely passes without the country being treated to a physical or verbal clash between Nairobi leaders.
Teargas, running battles and physical confrontations have come to define City Hall.
There is no dispute at City Hall that does not involve Mr Sonko, Ms Elachi, Matopeni Ward Representative Abdi Guyo, Assembly Clerk Jacob Ngwele and or Minority Whip Peter Imwatok.
Mr Sonko does not seeing eye-to-eye with the Speaker, even after supporting her return to office in October last year.
Ms Elachi is always involved in one dispute or another with Mr Ngwele and Mr Guyo – the reinstated majority leader – over the control of the county assembly.
Mr Imwatok, the blue-eyed boy of Mr Kidero’s administration, has allied himself with Ms Elachi.
Mr Guyo, who is in the governor’s camp, was once stripped of the majority leader’s seat after falling out with Mr Sonko.
The differences among the five leaders have sown seeds of division in the city county, with the assembly always split when debating or making important decisions.
Ms Elachi was impeached in September 2018 and stayed away from the assembly for several months until a court declared her removal illegal.
Governor Sonko has also been threatened with a second censure motion, having survived a similar one February.
With the support of Mr Sonko and some ward representatives, Ms Elachi had Mr Guyo, Mr Ngwele and former minority leader Elias Otieno removed from the county assembly board.
She then suspended Mr Ngwele and appointed Mr Edwin Gichana in acting capacity. The county assembly now has two clerks.
Leaders the Nation talked to say the fights at the county are fuelled by vested interests, fat egos and settling of scores.
