Fight against corruption is slowly getting derailed

Inconsistency and political expediency drive the pulse of our national politics. Kenya’s politics is a mixture of deceit, mistrust, blackmail and blatant disregard for the rule of law, so much that it brings to life French Novelist Honore de Balzac’s contention “laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught”.

Events playing out in the political arena attest to this, making absolute nonsense of any avowed efforts to fight corruption. Increasingly, the onslaught on sleaze is becoming a charade.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s first tangible tackle on corruption manifested in 2015 when he relieved five Cabinet secretaries of their duties, ostensibly because they had been mentioned adversely in matters corruption. However, nothing worthwhile came out of it, either because the prosecution was inept, the whole shenanigan was meant to assuage growing public disquiet over government inefficiency or because it was expedient not to open a whole can of worms.

Today, however, the Mike Sonko dilemma is set to expose some unsavoury truth about the war on corruption. It bares the truism that politics is about political interests, not the economic, mental, social or political welfare of the hoi polloi. Kenyans should stay woke to this reality lest they get taken in by the assumption that the Building Bridges Initiative is ‘largely about them’ and a better Kenya. Jubilee’s self-immolation over BBI is enough testament that it is mostly about personal interests.

The deal between embattled Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko and the national government in which some county functions were transferred to the national government caught many unaware. However, there is not much to choose between the two, if only because neither inspires much confidence or a sense of belonging in the public. It takes naivety to believe the national government can streamline the transport nightmare in Nairobi, not if the shambolic attempt to create car-less days in Nairobi is pointer. Serious city planners are in short supply locally, and if some strategically placed faceless fat cats benefit from the transport chaos, why kill the milk cow?

The intended impeachment of Sonko by Nairobi Members of County Assembly was informed by the governor’s managerial shortcomings and allegations of corruption, for which he was arraigned. On the basis of that, the court barred Sonko from accessing his office. Despite this, Sonko has been running the affairs of Nairobi from somewhere, the legality of which is debatable.

Notwithstanding that an accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty, any anti-corruption crusader would not stick out his or her neck defending a person charged with corruption. Thus, it came as a shock that President Kenyatta, the man behind the push to end corruption in Kenya, allegedly tried to persuade MCAs not to impeach Sonko; not that he loves Sonko so much.

The president’s pitch also caught many by surprise because it was least expected. For the arrangement that saw Nairobi County cede some power to the national government to hold, a besieged, easily manipulable Sonko must remain the governor, even if only on paper to give it legitimacy. Were Sonko to be impeached, especially now that there’s no deputy governor to ensure continuity, it follows that a by-election would be on the cards. The election of a new governor and deputy would nullify Sonko’s arrangement, and it’s doubtful that the national government would be amenable to that.

A lot accrues from managing Nairobi County. There is a purported takeover bid by a cartel that seeks to nominate its own to the county, purposely to free funds for projects. The transport sector generates a lot of revenue that could give a new lease of life to an ailing economy; an economy on which unfettered borrowing has become a blood-sucking leech, so much that drastic budget cuts have been mooted. Yet another allure is the fact that Nairobi contributes 21.7 per cent to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Temporary servant

Interestingly, the recent embarrassing display of polarity between the Director of Public Prosecutions and Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss whether to charge the Kenya Ports Authority boss with corruption or not underscores what Kenyans have been made to believe is a genuine effort to fight corruption.

When Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka countermanded an order by the Deputy Speaker Kithure Kindiki to establish whether the transfer of power was done procedurally, especially considering the Speaker oversaw the signing of the deal at State House, you get to appreciate that personal interests are at play. Kenyans are getting a raw deal, for as Mark Twain once opined, “The Government is merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn’t. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them”.

Mr Chagema is a copy editor at The [email protected]