Public service is an obligation and not an opportunity or a ladder for personal enrichment. It is not a shortcut to private convenience. It is a trust conferred by the people, financed by public resources and bound by constitutional ethics.
When leaders forget this distinction, the consequences are not merely moral; they are developmental. Nations stagnate not because they lack resources but because those entrusted to manage them convert public power into private privilege. Kalonzo Musyoka’s decision, during his tenure as Vice President, not to force construction of infrastructure projects purely because they served his home area is a case study in ethical leadership.