In PLO's rapid fall lie some chilling lessons on impunity

By MAURICE MAINA

The head of Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission is a lonely man. He has been accused of verbiage and is at pains to prove his detractors wrong. And he has come to realise that corruption has teeth. His social life is at stake. MP Cecily Mbarire can’t understand how he, "a family friend", can turn the gun on them. And he talks of threats to his life. His job is not enviable.

But that is exactly the bane of his predecessors. They soon come to realise what he is probably realising. It all started with flamboyant John Harun Mwau. Such was his gusto and enthusiasm, he could not wait to be allocated an office and used his personal resources to set up one. He was to leave in a huff.

Then, in came Justice Aaron Ringera. He of "big fish, small fish and all manner of fish". A common denominator among the "victims" is the zeal with which they assume office, only to appear tame in a while. What really happens?

Is there a a larger plot that has denied Kenyans justice on scams such as Goldenberg, Anglo Leasing, maize, Triton, education funds, cemetery plot, and many others?

Once upon a time, there existed, in the Office of President an office called governance and ethics, occupied by a respectable gentleman by the name John Githongo. When his probity led to what his job description entailed, he went into exile. He disclosed that his life was in line.

This is not an attempt to scare PLO. It’s an appraisal. If it was to scare there have been worse situations. Therefore, as PLO may have realised by now, his was more than a job, it’s a calling. He had an opportunity to undo his predecessors’ failings. KACC can do better at tackling the causes of unemployment, poverty, disease, hunger and ignorance.

The writer is a commentator on social and political issues.