Tame corruption, else, Kenya is stuck

When President Uhuru Kenyatta released the ‘List of Shame’ – an Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) dossier that laid bare suspected corruption in Kenya – many Kenyans rejoiced.

The ‘List of Shame’ had the names of 175 individuals, mostly Government officials, including five Cabinet secretaries suspected to have been involved in corrupt deals. Its release showed the president was willing to fight corruption in the country.

The 60-day ultimatum President Kenyatta gave the EACC to investigate the cases have expired and no one has been found culpable enough to be thrown behind bars. Some of the accused top government officials have already been cleared of corruption charges and are likely to resume duty.

This brings to mind what happened during President Mwai Kibaki’s 10-year regime. When Mr Kibaki rose to power in December 2002, there was a lot of optimism that finally, Kenya was on course to slaying the corruption dragon.

But Kenyans were left disappointed as the war on graft lacked seriousness, especially when corruption touched on Mr Kibaki’s close friends or associates. Take, for instance, the case of Anglo-Leasing scam in which the Government lost Sh8 billion in tendering for a new passport printing system. At the height of the scandal, three Cabinet ministers were forced out of Government by President Kibaki. However, they returned after three months of investigation.

Last year, the ghosts of the scandal returned to haunt the Jubilee Government when President Kenyatta was forced to pay a Sh1.43 billion debt linked to two Anglo-Leasing companies. It is disheartening to see the outrageous manifestations of corruption in our beloved country and the impunity with which corrupt people go about their business. The monster of corruption is devastating this great country, yet every time it seems we are clueless about how to end the vice.

We hear politicians promise all kinds of things during campaigns, but when they climb to power, some of them either get sucked in corrupt deals or condone the vice. Corruption seems to have permeated every sphere of our society and is bleeding Kenya to death. Unless we tame corruption, nothing the President or any other person does can meaningfully change Kenya’s economic or social fortunes.

Corruption is the root cause of extreme poverty, which has reduced Kenyans to paupers. It is the root cause of insecurity in this country, especially with the highly corrupted police force and immigration officers that have allowed illegal foreigners into the country and irregularly given them national identification documents. Corruption is the root cause of poaching that is threatening to wipe out our national heritage. Kenya has become the main route for this illicit trade.

Corruption is the root cause of trade in illegal drugs that have brought devastation to our children. We hear of drugs being destroyed in the Indian Ocean but the owners remain anonymous and continue with their evil trade. Isn’t it a shame that thousands of innocent Kenyans lose their lives on our roads every year because law enforcers look the other way after taking bribes from operators of ‘unroadworthy’ public service vehicles?

Last year, a survey by a private intelligence firm, SNI, indicated more than 99.9 per cent of traffic officers watch as Kenyans take bribes from matatu operators in a syndicate where public service vehicles (PSVs) pay protection fees to avoid civil arrest of errant operators and impounding of ‘unroadworthy’ vehicles.

In our opinion, the fight against corruption should be the main agenda for any person who claims to love Kenya. As such, we think the people mentioned in the ‘List of Shame’ should not get back to civil service, whether they are found guilty or not because their integrity and credibility in the eyes of Kenyans has already been compromised. Their return would contravene the spirit of Chapter Six (6) of our Constitution.

Secondly, for the President to demonstrate his willingness to fight corruption, he needs to show courage by releasing the Ndung’u report on irregular land allocations and let everyone mentioned, including religious leaders and institutions, carry their own cross. Land-related corruption has caused murders and hatred among Kenyans.

Thirdly, the anti-graft commission should be given prosecutorial powers so that they can prosecute the cases they have investigated. It is not morally right that Kenya is left at the mercy of an individual like the chief prosecutor to decide what is or isn’t prosecutable.

Fourthly, those caught in corruption should never be allowed to hold public office, including elective positions. We ask politicians not to politicise, trivialise or tribalise war on corruption. If urgent measures are not taken to curb this evil today and not tomorrow, the Jubilee Government will be taken by many Kenyans as the most corrupt regime in Kenya’s history.