NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 11 – Just like former US President Franklin Roosevelt who won the 1932 presidential election in a landslide victory and became the first physically disabled person to be President of the United States, Westlands MP Tim Wanyonyi is confident that he is on the same path of success as he bids to become Nairobi County Governor in the 2022 General Election.
Wanyonyi, who despite his disability put out all the stops and secured his first election victory in 2013 and re-election in 2017, has expressed optimism that his track-record will give him an edge over his competitors.
“I believe that my physical condition has not limited my faculty and my intellectual capacity and so I can still do it like anyone else would,” he told Capital News on Wednesday.
He will contest in the race under the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party.
The second-term legislator has been confined to a wheelchair since a 1998 shooting incident when he encountered gangsters. Upon medical treatment doctors revealed that he had sustained a spinal cord injury.
Despite the incident leaving Wanyama, then a practising lawyer, devastated and dejected, he found a new purpose in life: that of serving the people. He relishes his accomplishments as he continues to serve as an example to many that indeed disability is not inability.
“I have been rated as one of the best serving MP in the country and this just goes to show that my disability has not affected my performance,” he said during the interview.
Whereas campaigning for the Nairobi gubernatorial seat may portend challenges owing to the county’s vastness, Wanyonyi noted that he will paddle his own canoe and ensure that every city resident gets to hear his message.
“People who speak like that have a problem with themselves. First all they have a problem with their attitude and secondly, they have a mindset that believe that a person who is abled differently or a person with disability is not capable of doing certain things,” he said.
Wanonyi said he offers fresh leadership that will revolutionize the county which he decried has over the years suffered the consequences of failed leadership.
“I know I have a big dream for Nairobi and I want to change the city and position it to be a global leader. We would like to position Nairobi as a smart city meaning that Nairobi should be performing under ICT because we must move away from doing things in a very traditional way and start digitalising the functions of Nairobi.”
He added that: “We must also position Nairobi as the business hub for this region because Nairobi has been a leader in Eastern and Central Africa region for a long time but our leadership has been going down and you find that other regions are rising but Nairobi is going down,”.
So far, only three candidates have declared interest to vie for the Nairobi gubernatorial seat namely Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja, former Starehe MP Margaret Wanjiru and Wanyonyi.
With the polls slated for August 9, 2022 fast approaching, Wanyonyi revealed that he is looking for a suitable running mate who will complement his vision and that he is open for guidance by city residents on who he should pick.
“A running mate must be somebody who will complement and not someone who will come to disrupt the organization you have put together. I will like a person who will almost carry my vision. I would also like to hear the view of the city residents on who they think should join me,” he said.
Commenting on the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS), Wanyonyi maintained that its tenure should not be extended to the next City Hall administration.
While the term of the General Mohammed Badi-led team is set to expire in March 2022, Wanyonyi said it would be improper for the agency’s mandate to be extended as it would have already served its purpose.
“We have seen what they have done and when you look at it clearly it is all about leadership, discipline and it is about people using public funds properly by applying it where it is supposed to be applied. Mismanagement of resources is the biggest problem that we have. So, if we can get people into positions and can use the resources properly and channel it where it is supposed to be I am sure that anybody can make a difference,” he said.
He stressed that with proper leadership, no county should cede its functions to the national government even as he clarified that the partnership is not entirely bad.
“I believe that Nairobi cannot run away from the national government, the national government must at all times work with the County on certain matters,” he said.
Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko who was unceremoniously impeached following a series of graft allegations and mismanagement of county affairs handed key functions to the NMS in February 2020.
He was later impeached in December 2020 following a successful ouster motion by the County Assembly which was upheld by the Senate.
