Demolitions and a government fast losing credibility

Many are beginning to wonder whether the ongoing demolition of buildings, and the revocation of official government documents, could be a double-edged sword.

When the Nakumatt Ukay building in Westlands and the Shell Petrol Station in Kileleshwa were brought down, the nation responded, mainly with positive disbelief, trusting it marked the end of impunity.

Soon followed the Taj and Southend malls. But when the Seefar residential complex was marked for demolition, serious questions began to arise.

Taj Mall and Seefar owners argued that they had obtained legitimate government approvals before putting up the buildings, raising legitimate concern about the sanctity of government documents. Does a legitimately acquired government document guarantee anything?

The government is the ultimate authority. It operates within laid down laws and regulations to ensure order within society. Accordingly, one of the critical roles of government is to develop, enact and enforce relevant laws to help its citizens live and conduct business in a safe, secure and predictable environment.

As custodians of the law, governments the world over cannot breach their own rules – under any circumstance. In fact, in ancient days, the Medes and the Persians so perfected this principle that it became legendry. Hence, the phrase “the laws of the Medes and Persians” has been used to mean laws that cannot be changed.

The Medes and Persians premised their laws on the belief that the king is sovereign and his word is inviolable. When the king issued a decree or signed a document, it could not be violated, breached or reversed without dire consequences – often by death.

Moreover, even the king could not go against or reverse his own decree. When King Darius discovered that he had been conned into signing a decree to send his most trusted worker into the den of lions, all he could do was to pray for Daniel, but to the den Daniel had to go.

The implication was that if some fraudulent person stole the king’s seal and affixed it to a document, that document became binding and could not be disowned or revoked even by the king – except by the issue of another legal decree. This made the king’s seal a highly guarded entity. Indeed, the seal was eventually made into a signet ring that the king wore on his finger even in sleep.

The consequence was that every document issued by the government was sacrosanct, carrying the immutable guarantee of the state.

This principle continues to operate in governments today. It is what makes government guarantees the most solid forms of agreement. It is why investors often prefer putting their money in government securities – bills, bonds, and papers – especially in uncertain economic environments.

It is also the reason Kenya had to honour the Anglo Leasing payments even though they had been fraudulently issued. Failure to do so would have undermined the sanctity of our sovereign guarantees.

The principle of the inviolability of government documents is extremely critical for any nation. It would be a grievous tragedy if people lost faith in government documents. It means that school certificates, university degrees, birth certificates, national IDs, and passports would readily become spurious. It gets worse if one cannot trust Log Books, Title Deeds, Treasury Bills and Bonds, which are instruments of economic transaction.

The banking sector will especially be hit hard if the titles they hold as collateral for loans and mortgages turn out to be mere pieces of paper that can be revoked at will. Likewise, if government approvals and certifications cannot be relied upon for economic and infrastructural development, how can investors sink millions or billions of shillings into projects whose future depends on the whims of some government officer?

Whereas we cannot relent on fighting impunity, and whereas people must not be allowed to benefit from illegally acquired property, the government must develop mechanisms for redress that do not at the same time undermine its sovereign status.

Legitimately acquired documents must carry the guarantee of the government, just like it was under the laws of the Medes and Persians. If a building such as Seefar was indeed given legitimate government approvals, and if on the other hand it is within riparian land, then the government can compulsorily acquire that property at market rate and then demolish it to preserve the environment.

Perhaps that is what the Medes and Persians would have done. In the meantime, unethical or incompetent government officers must be hanged or restrained from handling the signet ring.

- The writer is Presiding Bishop of Christ is the Answer Ministries. [email protected]