How the fight against corruption is being politicised by cartels

Last week, in this very column, I indicated that the fight against corruption in Kenya has fallen victim to murky times where a charade of claims and counter claims on who is to blame for corruption is the hallmark.

Looking at the situation, by its very nature, the claims and counter claims by politicians are a façade, a move meant to hoodwink Kenyans by politicizing anything disguising as fact in an effort to make everyone feel like everybody is involved and therefore, no one should do anything. In fact, as I write this piece, politicians want everyone in Kenya to surrender and be hoodwinked by the very same politicians who are the beneficiaries of corruption.

I have indicated in this column before that what is happening in Kenya today is that brokers and middlemen are fighting to retain their foothold. And they care less and would stop at nothing.

The fight against contraband and counterfeit products, for example, is a big fight for those who have been living large on it at the expense of genuine businessmen, sugarcane farmers, and the ordinary Kenyan consumer.

Another example is all the noise about sugar importation. While there are those thieving cartels importing contraband, there are genuine ones who have been importing tones of industrial sugar every year for use in different industries from manufacture of drugs to dairy and confectionaries. The cartels are out to mix the two.

Serious threat

This lesson on how to politicize corruption the Kenyan style book relies heavily on hoodwinking Kenyans. Yet, counterfeits are a serious threat to Kenya’s very existence.  They injure our health systems, undermine all sectors of the economy and injure overall growth of the country. And they make everyone poor except, of course, the few.    

This political strategy which politicians are now using is meant to make Kenyans believe that corruption is beyond our ability to fight and there is nothing we can do about it. In any case, politics protects the corrupt and we, the voters, prefer and love corrupt politicians being in charge of our country. Or isn’t it?

That explains why when they are caught red-handed; they always rush back to their ‘home’ base to blame their perceived opponents because of many reasons, including succession issues and 2022, which are four years away. We cannot buy into such cheap political tricks.

What is clear now is that maverick politicians who are protecting cartels for a huge fee, are trying to play the victims so that those in charge of the crackdown become defensive. What the public wants to see are faces behind the mega graft, contraband and contaminated items. Time is up for political games.

Clearly, when we have human culture devoid of values and integrity and that favors wealth derived from looting of public resources, then we cannot blame anybody but ourselves for the bad manners.

 

Corruption is a symptom of deeper moral challenges which we, as a country, must raise up to. Yet, there are many actors responsible for entrenching good moral values .The family, the school, and religious leaders will need to re-examine their relevance and place in all these unless, of course, everyone is in it.

Corruption free

The religious body in Kenya specifically needs to wake up. Some faith-based organizations have been involved in receiving corrupt money and dealing with the same. Religious organizations need not only preach against the vice but also practice what they preach by ensuring that they are also corruption free.

Schools have an important role to play as teachers are important models of integrity and always teach about the importance of moral values. School boards must continue to cultivate a culture of discipline and integrity among all school management levels. We must look for ways of awarding discipline just as much as we support good grades.

Government should ensure all institutions of ports of entry are overhauled and the staff aligned apart from shaking up regulatory agencies to ensure compliance. Parliament which has an oversight role should create firm laws to help in curbing the vice. It cannot be used to shield the same perpetrators. Playing its oversight role more effectively with teeth which bite, will also go a long way.

Strikingly, there a few among us, including ordinary Kenyans, whose diligence continues to expose graft. This has an effect of creating a climate which makes life difficult for counterfeit traders and cartels to thrive. We cannot allow a situation where cartels rule and dictate everything.

The fight against corruption must continue relentlessly. Politicisation of the fight must be arrested with the energy and consistent political effort. Kenyans are watching.

Prof Mogambi, a Development communication and social change expert, teaches at the University of Nairobi:hmogambi @ yahoo.co.uk