Banana peel offenders don't belong with violent robbers

Someone I know was walking from the city center to Museum Hill using the Moi Avenue slip road into the Globe roundabout, then onto Kipande Road towards the Museum Hill overpass.  It was a regular working day, with hot, congested city life, stresses of life weighing down the thought process, and so on.

Anway, she bought a banana on the way and ate it to keep herself functional by boosting her sugar levels. Somewhere around Kijabe Street, she became conscious of someone walking behind her.  He was drunk, and looked and felt in her words, ‘very suspicious’.

First I need to acknowledge some of the strides that have been made in this country in the last couple of years. It is a relatively easy walk from the city along the route I have just described, thanks to the building of the Thika Super Highway and the “Michuki Park” along the Nairobi River in that section of town.

A couple of years ago, it would have been almost a death wish to make that walk. There were shanties lined along the street and not-very-nice characters lingering along the way, waiting to snatch anything and everything from walkers.

There may be remnants of these characters who are part of city life in many places in the world, but with the pedestrian paths more people walk comfortably, making the work for the wayward in society that much more difficult, as indeed it should be.

After walking all the way halfway on Kipande Road, hastening her step, she dropped the banana peel.

MAKE THEM PICK LITTER

That was when all hell broke loose. The drunk behind her and four other people were suddenly beckoning her to stop. Apparently, they were National Environmental Authority ‘officers’ on the lookout for Kenyans littering the streets of Nairobi. Of course it is an offence to litter our streets with banana peels or anything else for that matter. But that one simple, if wrong, action wasted a good part of the afternoon for this particular Kenyan. It meant a march to Central Police Station and a lengthy process which ended somewhere, or nowhere.

There are several issues here. One is that the city authorities have failed to put litter bins in many parts of the city. This simple detail just makes life unnecessarily hard for Kenyans. Remember the blocked Superhighway and the suggestion that it was litter blocking the drainage system?  Governor Kidero should just put bins in the city, period.

Two, just what amount of time exactly should be spent by a citizen who has littered in trying to solve the problem? I am practical, so I would suggest that such a Kenyan be made to pick the litter. The poor thing can walk with ‘taka taka’ in their pocket until they get home where, hopefully, there is a bin.

Three, if the government must punish offenders and make some revenue while at it, how about a fine almost like the city council parking ticket - on the spot, and the rhythm of life resumes. Taking banana peel offenders to Central Police Station along with violent robbers, murderers and only the law knows who else is a gross abuse of police and wananchi’s time. Even worse, it would seem that such people are supposed to go before a judge just to pay a fine. Remember the saying that time is money?

Twitter: @muthonithangwa