Tonight, I pick a bone with our 47 county Governors. Who are right now in Homa Bay. Making merry. Celebrating tongue in cheek the “success” of devolution.

Twelve years later, ordinary Kenyans should be dancing too. Joining their Governors along the lakeshore for a jubilant ajawa. Instead, the only rhythm they know is the pounding ache of poor services.

As Governors feast on ngege, mbuta, traditional vegetables and mountains of millet ugali in a bid to keep a healthy lifestyle, overlooking the serene Lake Victoria…back home, their counties are bleeding. Healthcare is in shambles. Patients are dying of treatable illnesses.

In Machakos County, nurses continue to stay away from health facilities, as disease and death adds to the burden of below par services already being experienced. Their grievances include promotions, salaries, and working conditions. The nurses insist they will not return to work until the county honours its commitments.

In Kiambu County, Members of the National Assembly have moved in to try and sweet talk healthcare workers out of the 80 days and counting strike. Next week the doctors say they will amplify it with street protests.

In Migori County, the nurses continue with their strike even as the county executive played host to President William Ruto. The nurses say, despite being on a protected strike, the county administration is constantly threatening and harassing them. This is not service delivery, it’s county executive sponsored neglect.

And it’s not just healthcare. County staff go months without pay. Excuses flying faster than solutions. “Yes, the Treasury delayed funds,” you say. But that excuse has become their favourite shield for incompetence.

Just days ago, Kisumu County appealed to staff, to give them time to sort out the salary delays. In Nairobi, the county executive is blaming rejection of supplementary budgets by the Office of the Controller Budget.

Meanwhile rent is due, bills are piling up, and workers are drowning in debt. Yet here we are, another devolution conference. Another round of speeches, gala dinners, selfies, and glittering social media posts. Management by clicks, I call it, counties dressed up for Instagram and TikTok while reality rots behind the filter.

I will call this for what it is: tone-deaf political theatre. If this is the “success” you’re celebrating in Homa Bay, then you’re celebrating the funeral of public trust.

Governors, running a county is not about fleets of SUVs, VIP tents, or acting like small gods. It’s about leadership. It’s about fixing the mess. It’s about making sure the core cog that turns the wheels your people are motivated, paid, and protected.

After eleven of these conferences, if you’re still discussing the basics, then you have failed. This is not 2013. This is now. Do better. Anything else is a lie, to yourselves, to your staff, and to the hundreds of thousands who trusted you with their vote.