Inability to contain widespread corruption should worry us all

“I am calling upon all of you to come out and fight corruption, and agree to support the government in fighting corruption as our first priority.” These were the words of President Mwai Kibaki when he took office on Monday, December 30, 2002.

Many may argue that the Kibaki years saw corruption increase in the country with some mega scandals remaining unsolved to date. But when you read his words again, you realise Kibaki was making a call on every Kenyan to help fight corruption. Kenya was this week in the news again for all the wrong reasons.

A court in faraway Britain was being entertained with startling morsels of high-level corruption involving printing of ballots for the by-elections prior to the 2013 General Election. It talks of major bribes in favour of tenders in a country where surveys estimate that the average urban Kenyan pays some 16 bribes per month.

Clearly, tales of politicians and state officers riding shotgun in the lead locomotive of the gravy train make juicier reading and prime time news! Since it is a matter already in court, we shall refrain from making further reference to the merits and/or demerits of the matter, for now.

The varied moves on the judicial chessboard, however, beg some worrying questions we must honestly address as Kenyans.
Are Kenyans appointed or elected to various positions of responsibility predisposed to dipping their fingers into the collective cookie jar? What is the state of the war on corruption? How effective is the Economic Crimes Act? Is it time to declare corruption a national disaster? What is the role of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission? Is its bark backed by a deterrent bite? How effective has the Public Officer Ethics Bill been? Has the systematic looting termed old corruption been replaced by a new corruption?

Let’s recap some well-known scandals. When the All Africa Games were held in Nairobi in 1987 that brought together participants from 47 countries, Kenya was hailed as a truly great host. However, after the last relay baton had been passed, it came to light that immoral amounts of money had changed hands and contracts inflated to line the pockets of certain organisers.

Then came the Goldenberg scandal that saw kickbacks and improper export compensation denominated in billions of shillings. Not even the lengthy and expensive forensic judicial inquiry could unravel the interwoven threads of deceit.

Soon thereafter, the Kibaki administration in 2003 waltzed into town and despite the high-sounding and, perhaps, well-intentioned pledges, many state officers and high-ranking politicians were soon embroiled in the infamous multi-billion Anglo Leasing rip-off. Indeed, it is only in the past week that we have heard the Attorney General pledge that the monies that were stashed in Swiss banks in the aftermath of Anglo Leasing will soon be wired back to the Exchequer in Kenya. Commendable!

Soon thereafter, the expensive exercise to overhaul the independence constitution kicked off, but even before it was promulgated, a heap of public funds allegedly found its way into private pockets and bank accounts courtesy of inflated procurement deals to print election material. It has, however, come to pass that old habits die hard and the old graft networks or cartels privy to the weaknesses of the supply chain management processes have infiltrated tender boards. Not even the noble free laptop computer programme could escape their sticky fingers, so much so that it had to be re-tendered.

Similarly, corruption seems to have been devolved as reports from most counties point to a feeding frenzy despite the annual audit queries to check this blatant looting of the public purse. There is hardly a county assembly left that has not seen a stand-off over looting in some form or another. Surely, this is not the covenant we, as leaders, made with the Kenyan voter.