Don’t just complain about corruption, do something about it

A worshipper who watched  the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops launch an anti-corruption campaign on television confronted me with a number of questions regarding the campaign. One was outstanding.

Our pastor, so I was told, collects money for fuel from different worshiping communities on a single Sunday. The money can buy fuel that a bus could use for a single trip from Mombasa to Malaba. Is this not cheating the Christians?

As the short conversation progressed, the worshipper wanted to know if the Catholic Church intends to reform itself first before going for others.  Quite a candid question, I thought.

So I went back to the statement the bishops released to dig out some responses. The statement, for anyone who is a critical analyst, is deep in reflection but also very practical.

From the outset, what is striking is that rather than finger-pointing, name-calling, ranting and speaking to the galleries, the bishops began by introspecting themselves.

They walked barefoot when launching the campaign dubbed “Breaking the Chains of Corruption”.  Walking barefoot echoes the act of Moses on Mount Sinai where he removed his shoes because he was in the presence of God as narrated in the Old Testament’s story of the burning bush.

It is here that Moses was given the Ten Commandments.

On manna

On one occasion, while Moses was up in the mountain listening to the voice of God, the Israelites downhill wanted to carry on with their worship of the visible gods that they were used to back in Egypt. They ran out of patience when he delayed up the mountain despite having promised they would always obey Yahweh’s commandments.

Not long after, Moses climbed down the mountain only to find the people had lost patience waiting for him, made a golden calf, and consoled themselves in praying before the statue.

They had forgotten about God who had brought them from the land of slavery, crossed the Red Sea and was feeding them on manna.

What god were they worshipping? Read this: Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.”  So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron.

He took what they handed him and made an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” (Exodus 32: 1 ).

Back to the worshipper, the Bishops’ statement is threefold in meaning. First, finger-pointing is not going to solve any problem. Leave that to the legal government agencies.

Second, the opportunity provided is for every worshipper to stand firm against corruption.  If a worshipper is aggrieved, there is nothing wrong in raising the concerns with the relevant authority. After all, the statement released clearly stated that the Church is open to public audit.

Against corruption

What this means is that the pastor collecting all kinds of funds is under obligation to justify the need and also ensure records for expenditure are available to the worshippers. If they can be made available to the public for audit, much more shall they be to the worshippers at their various levels of communion.

Third, the fight against corruption is a conscience matter. There are many people across the country who agree that corruption is sinking the country, they know it is a social evil that privileges some at the expense of others yet they feel quite helpless about what they can do.

My take is that change starts somewhere. The question is: What is at stake if we do not act? I guess the worshipper, like most of us who number over 95 per cent of all Kenyans who recognise God as Supreme, need not pass responsibility. Fix the problem by standing firm against corruption.

I happened to be at Subukia for the launch and I must admit I admired the courage of one Kenyan motorist who was ahead of us on our way out of the Shrine.

The traffic from the shrine was a nightmare with probably a thousand vehicles, including hundreds of buses, attempting to leave the venue after the celebration.

The good patriot used his car to block a rogue matatu and a few other vehicles following it each time it tried to overtake using the lane for the oncoming traffic.

The not-so-friendly matatu crew was furious but the guy stuck to his way of law and order. The courage of the motorist inspired me to yell out to a few rogue drivers. This motorist provides an example on how to fight corruption at a personal space.

Dr Mokua comments on Social Justice Issues