Of corruption and missed opportunities to slay the dragon

As campaigns heat up, both sides of the political divide will be trundling out their manifestos in pomp and colour, like they did in 2013. The Opposition will of course be poking holes in claims by the Government that it has fulfilled all its pre-election 2013 promises. The Government will be keen to demonstrate that the Opposition has no agenda for the country.

One theme that has slowly slipped out of this debate is corruption. More than ever before, Kenyans are more concerned about corruption and misuse of public funds. Whereas Jubilee leadership is keeping mum on how it plans to fight this scourge, NASA is equally not coming out strongly yet it is a major theme that should override, let us say, a discussion on whether SGR makes economic sense or not.

The problem with the SGR is not the project itself; this project has many good sides. When poking holes into the claims by Jubilee side on the success of SGR, it should be more about the inflated prices, the award of the contracts and everything about corruption as far as SGR is concerned.

Food shortages

The biting shortage of basic commodities such as maize is not about purchasing power. Even the shelves in Nakumatt Supermarket are now empty. Nakumatt joins Uchumi that has seemingly gone through a rough patch of late. Therefore the crisis this country is going through is more than just shortage of maize. There is a serious underlying problem which might not go away so quickly. The common denominator to all these problems is corruption.

Towards the end of 2016, political satirist Gado published a cartoon about corruption and the Government's culpability. In that cartoon, President Uhuru Kenyatta's office was depicted as one where corruption starts. Of course what Gado meant was that the buck stops with the President. If I were Mr Kenyatta, I would have used my executive powers to arrest the vice at source.

To show that he does not tolerate any corrupt individual, he needed to set an example of what can befall those who abuse the law. At a conference on corruption in December 2015, President Kenyatta expressed how he abhors corruption and how his government would do all it takes to fight it. In his speech, the President said "nothing angers Kenyans quite like corruption". And surely, it does.

Early this year the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) spearheaded the establishment of the Chapter Six Working Group under the Office of the Attorney General. It was composed of various governmental agencies and was meant to ensure strict compliance by aspiring leaders during the August General Election.

This move certainly was welcome. The President should have used this opportunity to weed out leaders or aspiring leaders known for their culpability in perpetuating corruption and abetting impunity. I expected the President to give political support to this organ. But alas, he seems to have developed cold feet. Perhaps waiting for a second to cement his legacy?

Ineffectual president

Contrary to what many think, in his second term if re-elected, Mr Kenyatta will most likely be a lame-duck president. I fear that the corrupt will use the courts to frustrate him even more and knowing that would be his last term.

Many of his perceived tainted friends and associates, even after being ejected out of his government, are now planning to join government as elected officials, or in other ways. And I am sure they are not asleep.

I think to cement his legacy, the president should use the analogy of the Eagle.

In order to survive to 70 years the Eagle does very painful things to its body. It knocks out its powerful beaks and plucks off the feathers on its wings. Consequently, it allows the beaks and the feathers to regrow before it starts to fly again.

The president is also going through the same challenges. He is facing an election and the wananchi expect a lot from him. He wants to sign a contract with the voters for another term. The voters are asking tough questions. Corruption is one of the major issues the voters are concerned about.

Mr Guleid is the Deputy Governor, Isiolo County [email protected]