President William Ruto’s trip to Addis Ababa has opened old wounds for Nairobians. Kenyans flooded social media with videos and photos of clean boulevards, wide footpaths, working lights and orderly public spaces in Ethiopia’s capital.

Meanwhile, back home, the frustration is familiar. Under Ruto nationally and Governor Johnson Sakaja at City Hall, Nairobi feels not just stuck in the past, but actually quickly reversing there.

Up north, Addis Ababa has spent the last five years building a new public realm.

As Kenya gave key public works contracts to the wives of MPs allied to the President and their briefcase companies, Addis city rolled out a master-planned corridor program that widened footpaths, planted trees, added bike lanes, put utilities underground and fixed drainage on dozens of kilometres of streets.

The parks tell the story even better.

Unity Park opened inside the National Palace in 2019, part museum, part botanical showcase and part heritage tour.

Friendship Park, also called Sheger Park, opened in 2020 with lakes, lawns and evening fountains, turning central Addis into a real family space.

Entoto Natural Park, launched in 2020, gave the city a high-altitude green escape with trails, cafes and play areas.

The Science Museum followed in 2022, and the Adwa Victory Memorial Museum opened in 2024, adding fresh cultural weight.

Then there is the National Palace Museum. Can you imagine instead of demolishing their old emperor’s Palace and building an ushamba looking monstrosity plus a church, they actually preserved it, renovated it and converted it into a national museum.

They even have a presidential car gallery, displaying all the historical automobiles used by their rulers.

Transport nodes got a face-lift too.

Meskel Square, the city’s iconic plaza, now sits atop a vast underground car park, with surface space returned to people.

Street lighting has been upgraded, and even building owners are obliged to keep façades lit at night, keeping main corridors bright and safer.

If you are a Nairobian, you know the contrast. Uhuru Park partially finally reopened in 2024 after a long renovation, with slightly better than Kamulu-standard landscaping.

In Nairobi, drains clogging with uncollected solid waste is a rather common site.

The county keeps announcing clean-ups, but garbage still piles up in estates, blocking waterways and feeding cycles of disease and flooding. And it’s only gotten worse since devolution, as every governor and their people drain the county off every last penny.

Another Sunday reminder: Nairobi is on autopilot, open manholes, blocked drainages, garbage, vibandas on every footpath, and roundabouts/footpaths are serving as Boda Boda stages.

This is Westlands for you. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/5L4WveSTB8

— Alfayaz 11 (@Alfayaz11) August 24, 2025

Lighting is another sore point. High-mast and street lights fail often, and repairs drag on. County leaders blame vandalism, but it’s really all about greed. There is no kitty so sacred, no shilling too little for those gluttonous suits.

Nairobi County government is on the spot for irregularly awarding tenders to eight companies to supply street lighting materials at a cost of Sh313 million.

EACC has revealed that these contracts were awarded on the same day, violating procurement laws.

— Moe (@moneyacademyKE) August 13, 2024

At the speed of a snail, Sakaja has been trying to install some new streetlights after the ‘vintage’ TEMU ones he installed – frankly meant for a private residential gated estate – were whisked away by hired goons last maandamano.

Meanwhile, this is how they do it in Addis.

The CBD is crowded and chaotic most evenings. Hawking rules change, crackdowns come and go, and pavements turn into market space every afternoon.

Commuters squeeze past stalls, matatus and boda bodas, and the city’s “walkability” becomes a rumor.

Politics reflects the frustration.

Sakaja, consistently ranked among the lower-performing governors, is always crying foul, saying most roads are a national mandate. What about the garbage, sir? The lawlessness, hawkers everywhere, matatus everywhere, the lack of long–term vision?

Nairobi’s big plans Ruto launched a multibillion shilling Nairobi River regeneration programme, and the Nairobi Rivers Commission talks of sewer upgrades, riparian restoration and new sanitation. If implemented well, that would be transformative , but that’s a massive if.

Either way, a cleaner Nairobi River will not do anything for the people of Roysambu and South B and Westlands, who also have to live with the county government’s incompetence.

Meanwhile, Addis is doubling down on city-beauty as strategy. The corridor programme keeps extending, the parks are maintained, and cultural sites pull in visitors.

There is pushback in Ethiopia too, especially over heritage demolitions in old Piassa. Still, when you walk the new streets, you feel a plan, and you feel delivery.

If you are asking why Kenya is stuck, start with the kienyeji work delivered by briefcase companies shadow-owned by top government officials.

Why cover the drains when you can pocket the cash?

Why mark the road when Kenyans are driving alright?

Routine maintenance, covered drains, waste contracts, lighting uptime, sidewalk enforcement and market management. Add bike lanes and tree cover, then protect them. Pick a few corridors, finish them fully, and keep them working.

Heck, why don’t you even take a single avenue in town or Westlands as proof of concept. Nairobians do not want a miracle, they want the basics to show up every day.

Photos and videos of Ruto’s visit to Addis ignited a huge conversation on X. And to put it mildly, Kenyans are pissed. Angry at our leadership and what a joke we’ve become.

A governor who in just 3 short years has transformed the city into darkness, & full of filth and mud.

And a president who has enabled him, and who also probably (wrongly) believes world leaders respect him globetrotting in Gulfstreams while his capital city is an open landfill.

Here are a few reactions from KOX.

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The streets of Addis Ababa Ethiopia, this is where President William Ruto should start benchmarking, sio story za jaba za Singapore. pic.twitter.com/e7QVQ1mq1J

— Gideon Kitheka Snr (@Gideon_Kitheka) September 8, 2025

Mnapigwa ngeta Nairobi by 6PM? This is Addis Ababa at 9PM. pic.twitter.com/slvKbR0Deu

— FERDINAND OMONDI (@FerdyOmondi) September 6, 2025

We say Nairobi is the New York of Africa.

But wait until you see Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. pic.twitter.com/HhGPSKjzr5

— DP 🇰🇪 (@DanChepta) September 9, 2025

Kenya’s Ruto going through the streets of Addis Ababa, a reminder for the next time he’s busy saving Sakaja. pic.twitter.com/cLeMcZxDtg

— Sir Adam ™ (@AdamMaina_) September 8, 2025