Nine out of every hundred Kenyans surveyed believe devolution is actually working. That number, sitting at just 9 percent, is the headline finding from Kenya's fourth-year devolution scorecard, and it is the kind of figure that stops you mid-scroll.
The scorecard, which ranks county governors on their performance, puts Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua's successor Julius Ndeti and Kiambu's William Wamatangi at the top of the list. Their counties are being held up as examples of what devolution can look like when it is functioning as intended.
Still, 9 percent is a hard number to dress up. The promise of devolution was to bring resources, decision-making, and accountability closer to ordinary Kenyans. Four years in, most of the people surveyed are not convinced that promise has been kept. Whether Ndeti and Wamatangi can shift that mood, and whether their peers are paying attention, is the real question going forward.
Originally published by AllAfrica.