Something to ponder as DPP engages high gear on graft war

Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji
 

Quite frankly, the swoop on 10 senior managers of Kenya Power Company is the tip of the iceberg regarding the rot in the tax-payers' run organisation. In spite of corruption allegations swirling around, the management of Kenya Power put on a brave face and went about its business as though everything was okay. When the day of reckoning came, it was swift and ruthless.  

Ultimately, the test of Noordin Haji's mettle as DPP, will be whether he delivers convictions in the cases he has so far brought before court. On that, like many other things, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. 

Commendably, Mr Haji has avoided the obvious pitfalls. Previous holders of the office have been lone rangers on a treacherous terrain. Eventually they were proven to be weak and cowardly. His newfound collaboration with the DCI and other investigative bodies like the National Intelligence Service and his no holds barred engagement with media are paying off handsomely. In one fell swoop, the DPP is restoring faith in the justice system. His tentacles should spread to other places reeking of corruption.

Reports gathering dust at the Auditor General's office offer a valuable tip. His sleuths need to comb through ministries and State departments where bureaucrats cream off funds meant for schools, water and roads' projects, or hospitals. They should also thumb through reports implicating managers at public corporations of engaging in wanton malfeasance.

From the Kenya National Exams Council where cartels had a firm grip on exams, in effect destroying the future of the country; to holding to account all those who took part in the looting to death of Mumias Sugar Company; to the theft at the National Cereals and Produce Board; to nailing those who took part in the award of the dubious contracts at NSSF over the construction of Hazina Towers whose cost (Sh7 billion) is the same despite the floors being reduced by half; to the Water and Irrigation ministries where water dams were not constructed in spite of funds being allocated and paid for; to the controversial Galana Kulalu Irrigation scheme where there is little to show for the Sh8 billion already sunk into a project designed to address endemic food insecurity. Everywhere you look, there is rot.

Mr Haji's job will have been worthwhile when all those who committed or looked the other way while injustices that have ruined the livelihoods of millions of Kenyan are punished.