Kenya paying dearly for their bad choices

From right, Farouk Kibet, Deputy President William Ruto's Aide, Senator Kipchumba Murkomen and Lugari MP Ayub Savula during a fundraiser at Besiobor area in Uasin Gishu County. The leaders called for lifestyle audit of the committee members to ensure that corruption is dealt with. [Kevin Tunoi/Standard]

After the events of the last three weeks I am convinced that many of our so called leaders don’t take calls for integrity as seriously as they should. I was shocked to hear a legislator, whose job it is to make laws, say that the lifestyle audit decree issued by President Uhuru Kenyatta was not a bright idea.

IQ deficient

That was a stunning display of the lack of emotional intelligence in reading the mood of the nation, perhaps a case of a zebra forgetting its stripes.

It seems our leaders have forgotten that their job as legislators, is not to show up on TV and complain; instead it is to represent us, the people. And we the people, desire a lifestyle audit for all civil and state officials. Get it done, don’t whine - just do your job.

Therefore for a leader worth his salt to pour cold water on this last attempt to fix the monster called corruption is the same as a policeman showing up at the scene of a crime and asking the victim and robber what he should do.

Due to their lack of integrity our MPs have frolicked in the mud for quite a while. Some get paid to attend rallies, others get paid to defend sugar cartels and some are the cartels they often decry. They, like pigs, are experts in the mud. To ask them to fix the rot by themselves is like asking pigs to start a cleaning agency. Such a shift requires a fundamental redefinition of the term clean or the term corruption.

Line in the sand

The fight against corruption draws a line in the sand between the corrupt and those that aren’t. To further isolate the presidency from the murk of politics past, the handshake rendered people whose expertise it was to insult Raila jobless - small wonder the country hardly remembers how they look like. Their insults are missing from our headlines, the country is at peace and they are at pains and that my friends is the rift in Jubilee.

The politics that is solely driven by tribal loyalty, corruption cartels and greed is dying and instead what is rising is issue-based politics for the good of our nation.

The muddy rugby players are finding it hard to play chess. The hecklers are having trouble turning into contributors. Worse, a Parliament that spent years playing politics is now suddenly required to work.

Kenyans expect better of our leaders

The political landscape is now poised for the thinking MP.

The MP who will begin to move bills to aid in the fight against corruption; the MP that will put governors in check and ensure devolution is not devolving corruption.

We also need MPs with integrity. Those who do not think they are being targeted when the president is rounding up thieves. MPs who will not participate in a “Twitter war” for weeks on end trying to defend their dalliance with the mud of corruption.

The MP we want

We need MPs diligent enough not to table ten-page “reports” on a matter under a probe.

Jubilee needs to have disagreements over big matters. Like our national debt and how to handle it and not what position each MP will have when kingdom comes in 2022.

The last three weeks have been a waste of time discussing trivialities in a world where China is taking over ports on foreign countries because they were unable to pay their loans.

Kenya needs to fight corruption like everything depends on it. We are on life support at the throes of death, if Parliament doesn’t get its act together.

And as we look forward to 2022, my advice to legislators is simple: For once, campaign on your record of performance while keeping in mind that two-thirds of your colleagues didn’t make it back to Parliament.

Put it another way; the people will send you home unless you come home. Smell the coffee and do what the people want you to do: fight corruption and make good laws. Period.

Mr Bichachi is a Communication Consultant. [email protected]