Let's not be caught up in political nuancing that we forget calling to truth

For nearly two years leading to the General Election, a coterie of Kenyan intellectuals and activists maintained a running commentary on “theft of Eurobond billions.” Many of us were concerned that the narrative was being driven more by partisan politics than a genuine concern for the truth. In a country where intellectualism is easily sacrificed on the altar of partisan politics, the non-factual narratives being pushed were doing more harm than good; they were denying Kenyans an opportunity to establish the truth about the Eurobond billions.

Last week’s report of the Auditor General vindicated many of us. For the avoidance of doubt those of us who dismissed the now discredited narrative did not allege that there was nothing dodgy about Eurobond. Our position was always that the activists and intellectuals were asking the politically spicy, but wrong questions; they were focusing on the wrong arena and in that way enabling the Treasury and the government generally to get away from questions on areas where shenanigans seem to have occurred. Because these intellectuals know different, this was an unfortunate betrayal of trust.