Hon Mustafa Abdirashid, MCA for Iftin ward and Deputy Speaker Garissa County Assembly./COURTESY
When the 2010 Constitution ushered in devolution, the people of Northern Kenya dared to dream.
For the first time in Kenya’s post-independence history, marginalised counties were to receive resources directly.
Power was to shift closer to the people. Services were to reach the forgotten corners of Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Isiolo, Marsabit, and Tana River.
The promise was bold, and expectations were high.
A decade later, the harsh reality is setting in.
For many in the North, devolution has turned into disillusionment.
Roads remain impassable, water scarcity is chronic, healthcare is crippled, education shattered and youth unemployment is staggering.
What went wrong?
THE PROMISE OF DEVOLUTION
At its core, devolution was meant to correct historical injustices. Northern Kenya had been neglected since colonial times.
Infrastructure was limited. Social services were sparse.
Security was militarised. County governments were envisioned as instruments of redemption, a chance to break free from National Government’s long shadow.
In theory, the model worked. Counties were allocated billions through the equitable share. Additional allocations like Equalization Funds, conditional grants, on-source revenue, worldbank supported programmes like KDRDIP, KUSP and host of partner support in the region were aimed specifically at lifting the region. But today, the excitement has faded.
Many county governments have become miniature replicas of the national government’s worst habits: corruption, boosterism, nepotism, bloated payrolls, poor planning, and elite capture.
WHERE THE RAIN STARTED BEATING US
The failure is not due to a lack of money. It is due to a crisis of leadership and accountability.
In almost every Northern county, political turnover is followed by massive staff purges.
Innocent workers are fired to create room for “our people.” Procurement is weaponised.
Development budgets are skewed to favor politically loyal regions. Meritocracy is sacrificed on the altar of tribal arithmetic.
Public participation is often reduced to a tick-box exercise. Ward Development Funds are politicised.
MCAs rarely act as watchdogs; they are co-opted into silence by governors offering stipends and tenders.
This has bred frustration and apathy. Citizens feel shortchanged. Devolution was supposed to empower them not entrench new cartels.
THE TRAGEDY OF THE LOST OPPORTUNITY
Devolution presented a golden opportunity for Northern Kenya to leap forward.
We had the chance to invest in modern pastoralism, tap into solar energy, build regional trade corridors, and improve resilience in the face of climate change. Instead, the region has remained stuck in survival mode.
Water projects stall halfway. Health centers are built but left without personnel or drugs. ECD teachers are hired and then unpaid for months.
Contractors bribe for payment. Projects are duplicated to justify inflated budgets.
Worst of all, the beneficiaries of this dysfunction are often the same political elites who claim to be liberating the region.
YOUTH AND WOMEN: STILL ON THE MARGINS
Despite all the talk about inclusion, young people and women in Northern Kenya are still largely excluded from meaningful decision-making.
Youth empowerment has become a cliché. Most county governments do not have functioning youth directorates or viable economic programs.
The youth, vibrant and educated, are left to hustle as boda riders, hawkers, or campaign agents.
Women are given token positions but rarely trusted with real influence.
This is not the devolution we fought for. Development must be about people, not power. If the majority remain jobless, voiceless, and hopeless, what then was the point?
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
It would be unfair to say devolution has been a total failure. Some counties have made modest gains.
A few have invested in ICT hubs, health referrals, bursaries, or livestock markets. But these remain isolated cases.
The bigger picture is grim. The next phase of devolution must be about reform, not rhetoric.
We must move from personalities to policies.From entitlement to accountability.
Here are five urgent shifts Northern Kenya must make
1. Demand competence over clan
Communities must elect leaders based on vision, track record, and integrity not clan affiliation.
2. Reclaim public participation
Let budgeting and development planning be genuinely people-driven, not stage-managed.
3. Audit and accountability
Citizens and civil society must demand regular audits, project follow-ups, and expenditure tracking.
4. Professionalise county service
End political sacking of staff. Build stable, merit-based county administrations.
5. Empower the youth and women
Move beyond tokenism. Put them at the center of policy design and implementation.
A CALL TO REFLECTION AND ACTION
Northern Kenya does not suffer from a lack of potential. We have land, livestock, sun, and a resilient population.
What we lack is leadership that listens and delivers.
The current model of devolution captured by elites and weaponised for political gain is unsustainable.
It is a betrayal of the very Constitution that gave us this lifeline. It is time to course-correct.
Devolution must be reclaimed from the hands of opportunists and restored to its original purpose: empowering the people at the grassroots.
That starts with civic awareness, voter education, and a collective refusal to normalize mediocrity.
CONCLUSION: LET US NOT GIVE UP
While it is tempting to lose faith, the story of Northern Kenya is not over.
We can still write a new chapter, one where county governments work, where young people thrive, where women lead, and where services reach the furthest village.
Devolution is not the problem. The problem is how we have misused it. And the solution lies not only in better leaders but in a more informed, courageous, and organized citizenry.
If we don’t reclaim devolution, disillusionment will harden into defeat.
The time to act is now.
The author is the MCA for Iftin ward and Deputy Speaker Garissa County Aasembly. A columnist and A playwright.
