Kenyans living in the US have been asking friends to confirm whether the Rironi-Mau Summit road is indeed being expanded into a dual carriageway. Earlier, news of the Isiolo-Mandera road generated many sceptical memes. Both large-scale projects are ongoing.
On the Rironi-Naivasha segment, construction is continuing day and night. China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) has mobilised 38 teams and 1,200 trucks to work on structures, interchanges, and earthworks. About 3,000 people are currently employed on the project. This number will increase to 6,000. The segment is already 25 per cent complete. Tarmac is expected to be laid on various sections by October this year.
While not sceptics by nature, Kenyans are doubtful about government projects. Culturally, we are warm, communal, and optimistic. However, decades of zero-sum politics, unfulfilled promises on jobs and infrastructure, corruption, and economic volatility have cultivated a sharp trust deficit.
Afrobarometer surveys show that we do not trust institutions. We doubt the honesty of elections and the independence of the courts. It is no surprise, then, that we greet announcements of development projects with doubt rather than applause.
We are collectivist, hospitable, and readily cooperate with and support each other. Religious faith plays a central role in our identity. But even here, scepticism is emerging. Rogue, profit-driven preachers have made us increasingly cynical about religious leadership. We are entrepreneurial, resilient, and cheerful. Our scepticism is therefore not permanent pessimism. Rather, it is a vital, street-smart survival strategy.
How can the broken social contract be repaired? The state must prove it is serving the public interest rather than protecting political elites or prioritising creditors. Trust cannot be built while public officials operate above the law. It requires swift, visible legal penalties for abuse of office. We should compel officials implicated in the misappropriation of public funds or wasteful spending to repay those public resources from their personal wealth. The rule of law must apply universally.
At the core of the trust deficit is a subtle yet deep issue. A physical project is not proof of a clean process. The scepticism is not directed at the project itself but rather at how much it costs, who is profiting from it, and whether it will be finished.
Projects often mask deeper institutional issues. Behind-the-scenes dealings lead to significant cost escalations. Project cancellations result in massive breach-of-contract expenses for taxpayers. Cancelled projects are later awarded at significantly higher contract sums. Many projects have been promised for generations. When timelines shift, citizens see this as political campaign machinations.
Kenyans can see the physical tarmac, stadium canopy, or building, but they doubt the “software” part. Contracts, interest rates, and procurement have historically been corrupted, hidden, or manipulated. The scepticism is not a denial of facts; it is an interrogation of the price tag.
Paradoxically, Kenyans follow politicians not because they trust them, but because they view them as vital communal shields and resource gatekeepers in a flawed system. With weak state institutions and scarce resources, political alignment is a matter of community security. Roads, schools, bursaries, and state jobs are not seen as universal rights distributed equally by an objective state. They are seen as part of a pie divided by whoever holds power.
A voter will readily admit that their tribal kingpin is corrupt, but still vote for him or her, believing that a corrupt politician who brings some resources home is better than an honest one from a rival community who might direct everything elsewhere.
Poverty means we live hand-to-mouth. Politicians exploit this, positioning themselves as personal financial saviours rather than policymakers solving problems. Donating towards medical bills, school fees, or the local church builds immediate, transactional loyalty.
Voters may suspect that the politician is using public funds that could have built a working healthcare system in the first place. However, because the system is broken today, voters cannot afford to alienate the person providing immediate financial relief.
When every political option feels compromised, voting on ideology breaks down, resulting in the illusion of choice. Voters have stopped looking for honest leaders. Instead, they cynically choose the politician who is most familiar, predictable, or most likely to defeat a perceived external political threat.
Loyalty to tribal kingpins is entirely transactional, defensive, and pragmatic. Politicians use the public as shields to secure power and immunity. The public uses politicians as battering rams to extract resources from the state. It is a system driven not by blind faith, but by a mutual, hyper-sceptical understanding of how power works on the ground.