Was naming city road after Francis Atwoli done irregularly?

The latest naming of a public road is raising queries over the procedure that was followed, and has resuscitated debate over guidelines on naming of streets.

This is after City Hall, under the administration of Deputy Governor Ann Kananu, announced that Dik Dik Road in Kileleshwa had been renamed Francis Atwoli Road, after the veteran trade unionist.

While unveiling the newly-renamed road on Thursday afternoon, Ms Kananu said the gesture is in recognition of Mr Atwoli’s contributions during his decades-long career.

“This road has been renamed after my good friend and brother, Bwana Francis Atwoli, in recognition of his selfless contribution and agitating for the rights of Kenyan workers in the last 54 years,” said Ms Kananu.

A gushing Mr Atwoli thanked both the Nairobi County Government and the Nairobi County Assembly for the gesture.

“I am really grateful for this kind gesture. No one has honoured me in this way. Thank you Madam Governor,” said the Cotu boss.

Queries

However, questions have come up over how the road came to be renamed without an approval of Motion from the Nairobi County Assembly.  

According to the law, a motion calling for renaming of a road after a prominent person must first be passed by the assembly. Then the assembly’s Implementation Committee can write to the county Executive, communicating the approved Motion. The Executive will, within three months, be expected to effect the request or reject it.

However, none of this happened. In this case, only a Notice of Motion was given by Roysambu MCA Peter Warutere during last week’s special sitting on Thursday.

The Notice of Motion by Mr Warutere indicated that Dik Dik Road be renamed Francis Atwoli Road in recognition of his contribution to the prosperity and wellbeing of workers in Kenya and abroad. This, he argued, is in line with the county having a history of conferring honours and recognition of its most outstanding citizens for service, acts or deeds which promote the public good with the naming being historically done by both the national government and the county governments.

He added that the Cotu boss deserved this recognition, having greatly impacted the growth of the union movement in Kenya, and for dedicating more than 50 years of his life as a public servant to championing the rights of workers and social justice against many odds.

However, the Motion was not debated. It was also neither approved nor rejected by House members.

Even if the Motion was debated, it still would have been against the laws governing such a sitting. During a special sitting, no new business can be debated other than that which is gazette, and which occasioned the sitting to be called.

A communication from the Speaker indicated that the special sitting was called for three specific House businesses. These were consideration of the Nairobi City County second supplementary budget estimates for the financial year ending June 30, 2021; consideration of the Nairobi City County Draft Valuation Roll and tabling and consideration of the report of the select committee on Ward Development Fund (WDF) on the vetting of the nominees for appointment to the Nairobi City County WDF committee.

This year, Accra Road was renamed Kenneth Matiba Road in recognition of the second liberation hero, while Eastleigh First Avenue was changed to Yusuf Haji Avenue, in honour of the late senator. In both these instances, a Notice of Motion was brought, and time allocated for debate of the motions before approval. This then paved way for the county executive through Transport and Roads CEC Mohamed Dagane to go ahead and rename the roads.

Attempts to reach Mr Dagane for comment over the matter were futile as he neither responded to our calls nor replied to messages.

Other roads that have been renamed recently are Kapiti Crescent in South B, which was named after late football legend Joe Kadenge; Mugumo Road in Lavington was quietly renamed Margaret Kenyatta -- the firstborn daughter of founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta shortly after she died. 

In 2016, under ex-governor Evans Kidero’s administration, Forest Road was renamed Prof Wangari Maathai Road to recognise the late Nobel laureate’s role in safeguarding Nairobi’s green spaces. 

In the Nairobi city centre, Cross Road was also changed to Charles Rubia Road, the city’s first native African mayor, in recognition of his efforts in fighting for multi-party democracy in Kenya.