Land corruption cannot be exorcised by perpetrators

I have followed keenly the events of recent past, and I am discouraged by the mere fact that things in Kenya do not seem to improve at all.

We look up to our leaders to decide implementation of Ndungu land report as much as we depend on them for matters of constitutional changes. Believe me, they are Governors, Members of Parliament, and Commissioners - this is the new generation of leaders we look up to, and it is why I think the war on corruption is already lost, and lost forever.

It is understood, the malfeasance by executive with regard to land matters in the past, is the skewed manner and favouritisms with which it exercised those powers.

In many places, indigenous people were often disowned of their heritage by aliens who then render such communities into squatters – Take the case of Nubi in Nairobi, President Kenyatta had recently considered dealing with land matters in Kibra volatile and fairly retracted his earlier plans of issuing land titles for residents.

Things are changing if the narrative of unrest at the coast is anything to go by. Kenyans are showing eagerness to restore social order which was long distorted by political and state actors although that comes at a price as social change involves huge costs.

But it is our institutions, particularly enforcement authorities such as the Police, Ethics and Integrity Commission, and the judiciary that have repeatedly failed to protect the interest of Kenyan people.

Before elections, had the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and Judiciary exercised their mandate fully to ensure compliance with the Ethics and Public officer Act by candidates seeking leadership responsibilities of public offices, we would not have to contend with the dishonour where Public office holders are constantly in the news for corruption and integrity issues like we see with the current Lamu land saga.

It is deplorable that the debate on the floor of parliament has degenerated into one of name calling where both the government and the opposition who are implicit in the land mess have resorted to settle scores on the basis of who grabbed more acres of land than the other.

Call a spade a spade, a thief is a thief whether theft involves just a piece or whole piece of what is being stolen. I hope Hon. Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu’s efforts are not politically motivated. She must be commended for the bold attempt to clean land registry, a move that has seen corrupt cartels exposed and scattered.

To deal with corruption of land grabbing, what we want as Kenyans is fair implementation of all land reports that have been undertaken in Kenya. Parliament should also consider formulating a reasonable and equitable land Act, to restore order and change corrupt mentality around land ownership.

Land is a big issue, reason why we need a referendum, and there are other obvious reasons but Governors especially would rather push for that meant to enhance increment of funds allocated to County government. They want the cookie jar filled up to satisfy their insatiable greed.

The mention of referendum stalks partisan debate in the public arena. The divisions on party loyalty is depriving Kenya many opportunities for growth and development. We cannot even deal with insecurity, a matter that involves life and death of citizens because of political rivalries.

It must be highlighted that the devolution system of governance has taken off the ground. After a year of experiment, we can no longer tell imaginary but real stories about devolution. Oh yes, Kenyans are aware of the huge wastage of spending on sustenance and discretionary matters at the Counties at the expense of development. Members of County Assembly who have become global tourist are not helping as well.

I support referendum and recommend three questions. The public needs to decide whether we really need devolution in its current form. Two, we must decide the system of Presidency we want in Kenya – imperial or a lame duck. Lastly we must come clean on how we want IEBC constituted and run.