Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has admitted that the reality of tribal balancing in public appointments has challenged his long-held belief that merit should be the sole consideration in hiring and leadership.

Sakaja said his experience in running the Nairobi city County government had exposed him to the practical challenges of managing a workforce drawn from across the country, forcing him to confront questions of ethnicity that he had previously not considered.

“You know, this place has made me start asking, thinking, ‘Oh, where is this person from?’ I never think like that. I’m not wired like that,” Sakaja said in an interview.

The governor said he had previously approached appointments primarily from a meritocratic perspective, only to encounter situations where officials and members of the public raised concerns about regional representation.

He gave an example of being told that an appointment could not proceed because a particular community or region was not represented.

“You make appointments, and you’re told, ‘Oh, there are no Kisumu people.’ I had not thought of that,” he said.

Sakaja said the experience had been particularly unsettling because of the multicultural environment in which he was raised.

He recalled discovering the ethnic background of a close friend only during the friend’s wedding, when songs revealed his community.

“I have a friend, one year apart, born and raised in the same place. I knew his tribe on his wedding day because of the songs, because we don’t care about that,” he said.

The governor said the experience had made him realise how deeply tribal considerations remain embedded in public life, particularly in government appointments.

“That tribal thing really shook me, because it was practical now. That when you get somebody from this place, you must balance with this other place. You must now think of that,” Sakaja said.

He said the reality had challenged his belief that appointments should be based strictly on competence.

“Yet I thought it’s about merit, yeah, meritocracy. That rattled me a bit,” he said.

Sakaja said he has consequently become more conscious of ensuring that his administration reflects the diversity of Nairobi and the wider country.

However, he argued that leaders must also demonstrate through their own conduct that it is possible to transcend tribal considerations.

He pointed to the composition of his own team as an example, saying officials serving under him come from different parts of Kenya.

“People see it in my life. They look at me. They’re like, ‘Okay, Sakaja is from this community, but he’s not surrounded necessarily by people from our community,’” he said.

The governor said his county executive committee members, security team, driver and chief of staff come from different parts of the country.

“His CCs are from across the country. His bodyguard is from this place. His driver is from here. His chief of staff is from here,” he said.

Sakaja said Nairobi should lead the country in breaking away from ethnic politics because of its cosmopolitan character.

“And that’s something we must disappear,” he said.

“My tribe is Nairobi. We’re Nairobians. We must think as Nairobians, honestly,” he added.

The governor acknowledged, however, that changing attitudes towards ethnicity would take time, arguing that Kenya still has significant work to do in building a society where competence and shared citizenship take precedence over ethnic identity.

“That’s something that I feel we still need more time to change,” Sakaja said.