Geoffrey Mosiria, Nairobi’s Chief Officer for Environment, is once again under fire after a disturbing video surfaced showing him confronting elderly street vendors in the city’s Central Business District.
The incident, recorded on June 27, 2025, captured him demanding that an elderly woman carrying a toddler remove her wares from a public walkway. Instead of handling the matter with care, he appeared harsh and dismissive.
The woman, clearly distressed, begged him to let them mourn in peace, highlighting the country’s current difficulties.
Her plea, “We are mourning, kindly leave us alone,” struck a nerve with many Kenyans online who saw her not as a nuisance, but as a victim of a broken system.
Instead of addressing the bigger picture why old women must risk humiliation to feed themselves Mosiria chose to flex authority.
His response, which tried to paint these hawkers as dramatic and manipulative, only worsened things. He claimed they provoke him to gain sympathy from the public, suggesting it’s all a calculated act.
But Kenyans aren’t buying that. Many see it for what it is, bullying the powerless while pretending to keep the city clean.
People called out his insensitive behaviour, with some giving him shameful nicknames like “rapist ya Sakaja,” linking him to Governor Sakaja’s administration which many now view as out of touch.
The outrage wasn’t just about one incident. It echoed deeper frustrations how the poor, especially women and the elderly, are treated like criminals for simply trying to earn a living.
One user noted, “They even twerked on him,” mocking his attempts at authority and showing how far respect for him has fallen.
Even as Mosiria defended himself by comparing Nairobi to Kigali and calling for a change in mindset, he failed to understand the human side of the problem.
Cities are not built by chasing away hawkers and humiliating grandmothers. Cleanliness doesn’t mean cruelty. Enforcement doesn’t mean arrogance. And leadership doesn’t mean using force against the weak.
If this is how Nairobi’s leaders treat the most vulnerable, then we are heading in the wrong direction. Mosiria’s behaviour is not just wrong it’s shameful. Nairobi doesn’t need officials who see poverty as a crime. It needs leaders who understand that true order starts with dignity, not harassment.
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