Why a Kenyan road sign has become a burning issue

A furious row has erupted in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, over the renaming of a road in honour of the pinnacle of the organisation representing labour unions, Francis Atwoli. The backlash has seen the fresh signpost marking the new name pulled down, swap up, burnt and restored yet again. Dik Dik Road – named after the tiny antelope – within the upmarket Kileleshwa suburb was renamed Francis Atwoli Road late last month. Never features a sign attracted this much attention in Kenya. Critics say Mr Atwoli is undeserving the honour as he has not improved workers’ conditions during his twenty years at the helm of the Central Organization of Trade Unions (Cotu). This week a hastily erected temporary hand-written sign was replaced with the newly minted one, put up with great fanfare by his supporters – who promised to protect it from vandals. Mr Atwoli himself has condemned the vandalism, putting it all the way down to envy. “My name is everywhere on the planet and one doesn’t require street signage for them to grasp who Francis Atwoli is,” he posted on Twitter. “The name will board posterity taking under consideration my years of selfless service to the workers in Kenya and therefore the world.” Though he said had he been involved, he would have chosen a road that matched his stature. “It doesn’t hurt me the least bit as I didn’t propose to own a road name after me. finally, if I used to be asked to decide on, I’d have chosen a very very prominent road in Nairobi to be named after me – an even bigger road than that one,” he told Kenya’s NTV. Nairobi’s Acting Governor Ann Kanunu said it absolutely was hard to know why people were so angry given the name change reflected Mr Atwoli’s “selfless love and devotion to the country”. But the 72-year-old has recently been vocal in his support for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s attempt to make fundamental changes to the constitution, called the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI). It proposes to expand the manager arm of the presidency, but it’s divided the country and last month the supreme court blocked the move, saying it absolutely was irregular, illegal and unconstitutional. the govt. is now appealing.