When it comes to fighting corruption, Kenyans like their standards double

Bribe Concept: A hand giving an envelope full of money. [Getty Images]

When it comes to standards, Kenyans tend to like theirs double. While this might not be good for a nation that has so much unfinished business that it needs to clear to move on, Kenyans do not mind it for several reasons.

One, it makes them think that they are working towards getting a solution when they not only change positions on issues of national importance but also when they do not come to an agreement. For several years, Kenyans and their leadership have been talking about eradicating corruption. Every politician looking for an elective position promises to fight corruption and end it, but when they are elected, they thrive in the very same thing they said is pulling Kenyans back.

Their fans and zealots, who agree with them during the campaigns that corruption is killing development, turn around and defend them when they are fingered for corrupt deals. While they may think that they are doing their favourite politician a favour, and will gain from the corrupt deals, their dire situation only gets worse because basic services that the government is supposed to deliver to them, get lost in the pockets of individuals.

There is no gainsaying that corruption impoverishes a people and even kills them, but Kenyans only see that when a person they are not supporting is engaging in corrupt deals. Kenyans are those passengers in a matatu who see no wrong when their driver breaks traffic rules as long as they reach their destinations, but at the same time complain about traffic gridlocks when drivers of other vehicles employ the same tactics as their driver.

Corruption kills and Kenyans know it, but yet, they are always expecting to benefit from the proceeds of corrupt deals, and can't think of any other way of getting things moving without corruption getting employed.

True, Kenyans are corrupt at all levels of governance and economy, and it is not a lie to conclude their outrage at corruption is fake, and fleeting — for it only comes when their enemy is accused of the same.