The curtain hiding the chaos that is the Government's war on corruption is unravelling faster than a ball of yarn.
Sixty days after President Uhuru Kenyatta said in his State of the Nation address that institutions set up to fight corruption "have elected to be mired in personal and institutional conflicts that have chipped away at their legitimacy and brought disrepute to the State", his words have become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
"From the commission charged with the responsibility in the fight against corruption, Parliament's premier oversight committee, the corridors of justice, and the security organs charged with the safety of this nation, Kenyans are witnesses to the betrayal of their trust," said President Kenyatta on March 26, when he released the famous "list of shame" and asked those named to step aside.
That "security organ" is the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headed by Ndegwa Muhoro.
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The DCI is the investigatory arm of the National Police Service, whose detectives probe suspects for the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). Attempts to reach Mr Muhoro for a comment were unsuccesful as he was said to be out of the country.
Also in the mix is the National Assembly, whose Majority Leader, Aden Duale, and several of his colleagues have accused the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Keriako Tobiko of undermining the war on corruption, but stand accused of failing to provide his office with sufficient funds to make it truly autonomous.
Four Cabinet secretaries have already been cleared, largely due to lack of evidence and other reasons, raising questions about the quality of the investigations by officers under Muhoro.
The imploding of the 60-day, anti-graft campaign, which began almost immediately with the resignation of EACC Chairman Mumo Matemu and his deputy Irene Keino, is now a political fireball that threatens to consume Tobiko and the CEO of the anti-graft agency, Halaqhe Waqo, who provided the list of shame.
Mr Waqo's list, which Matemu said he was not consulted on, is turning into a huge embarrassment for the State as high-profile cases collapse on each other like a pack of cards.
Waqo came out on top in his tussle with Matemu, but with the latter gone, the EACC chief is exposed in a manner not even he would have foreseen, and the anti-corruption narrative is spiraling out of reach and into the hands of politicians.
If the EACC that submitted the cases to the President was convinced they were informed by substantive claims, as has been the case in some that it recommended prosecution, why has the DPP overturned the decisions?
Is there a scheme to throw away the cases and are decisions on whether to prosecute or not informed by other ulterior considerations rather than evidence as some MPs have claimed?
Yesterday, two Opposition MPs alleged a scheme to hound Mr Tobiko out of office by the Government. ODM's Director of Elections Junet Mohamed (Suna) and his Ruaraka counterpart Tom Kajwang' alleged a choreographed crusade by Jubilee MPs to paint Tobiko as inept and corrupt.
The MPs cited recent public statements by a group of Jubilee MPs, who have been accusing the DPP and EACC of sabotaging Uhuru's war on corruption.
Remove the DPP
"This is a choreographed scheme to hound the DPP from office. They started with EACC and now they are going for the DPP," Junet said.
Kajwang' added: "Kenyans are being hoodwinked that there is a fight against corruption when in reality Jubilee is weakening all independent offices. Very soon, there will be a petition to remove Tobiko from office because he has demonstrated his independence."
But National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale denied this and called the Opposition MPs hypocrites.
"As Jubilee, we don't intend to remove the DPP from office or weaken any anti-corruption body. We have no problem with the DPP as a person, but some people within his office. All we are telling him is that he must clean up his rank and file. I backed Keriako for DPP in the last Parliament when ODM MPs vehemently opposed him. I cannot turn now and cut a tree which I planted."
Yesterday Tobiko refused to comment on the ODM MPs' claims.
"As the DPP, I make my decisions based solely on evidence, facts and the law and in accordance with Article 157 of the Constitution and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act, 2013. My decisions are made without regard to political, ethnic or other external considerations. As the DPP/ODPP, our fidelity is and shall remain to the Constitution and the law," he said last Friday.
"It is too early to judge, but I have no doubt that the DPP is equal to the task, since I participated in vetting him. However, all the staff at the EACC and the DPP's office should be vetted. I support more allocation of resources to the ODPP and the hiring of more staff to expedite the process," Duale said, responding to concerns ODPP is underfunded.
Kisumu West legislator John Olago Aluoch said Uhuru's attempt to fight corruption has fallen flat on its face since the list of shame is half-baked and not based on evidence.
"This is why some suspects on the list have been cleared by EACC while corruption is at its peak. Uhuru Kenyatta will go down in history as the President under whose watch mega corruption thrived, and that will be his legacy," said Olago.
"Everybody was cheering, now they have nothing to tell Kenyans," said Suba MP John Mbadi, while questioning the credibility of the President's list.
Kitui Senator David Musila said: "What we want to see is if the President keeps his promise on fighting corruption. Current events clearly show that things may not be going according to expectations."
"Cases take too long to be investigated and concluded because of the bureaucracy involved, while the ODPP is being used as a cleaning house and for buying time," alleged nominated Senator Harold Kipchumba.
Addressing the media in Kisumu, ODM's Director of Political Affairs Opiyo Wandayi, said for the EACC to be effective, it must have prosecution powers anchored in the Constitution.
"Jubilee has the numbers. They should be able to support the amendment seeking to strengthen EACC when brought to Parliament, instead of being treated to a game of musical chairs by the President in the fight against corruption," Wandayi added.
The Ugunja MP claimed it was a joke that somebody accused of corruption can just be cleared with a stroke of the DPP's pen without proper investigations.
Wandayi said the ODPP should be occupied with other crimes and let EACC handle graft.
"The President has the CID, NIS, Inspectorate of State Corporation and the internal audit department of the National Treasury, which he can use to provide information and deal with his officers decisively and administratively," argued Mbadi.
"Uhuru should not spare those close to him in the fight against corruption," said Muhoroni MP Onyango K'oyoo.
On Sunday, four Nairobi MPs led by Starahe's Maina Kamanda sensationally claimed the ongoing graft war was being influenced by powerful cartels who determine the people to be charged and those to be cleared.
"Names have been circulated of the people we believe are the driving force behind these dirty games in the ODPP and EACC. We will name them on the floor of the House. EACC and the ODPP are not acting independently," said Kamanda
Kericho Senator Charles Keter defended the investigating agencies saying the MPs' interference with Tobiko and the EACC was frustrating the war on graft.
