Graft suspects will face travel bans, says outgoing UK envoy

Outgoing British High Commissioner to Kenya Nic Hailey during the interview at his residence in Nairobi. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

Even as leaves, British High Commissioner to Kenya Nic Hailey is still scratching his head. His four years of duty in a station that has beguiled and “captured” Western envoys in the past have ended in a blend of impressions.

The country’s design and approach to anti-corruption fight befuddles him. He is unable to come to terms with the fact that elected leaders continue to hold office despite being charged in court with corruption allegations and other offences.

“It is scandalous and dishonourable that people taken to court for serious offences are then able to get back to their positions and interfere with investigations, intimidate people, hide evidence, whatever they are able to do,” he says.

If it were left to him, he says he would have them stand aside over the course of investigation and prosecution. Hailey cannot understand why the value of personal honour cannot be appreciated by such people.

“Being elected as a leader or being appointed as a leader, there is a trust conferred in one, the privilege and a sense one has to live up to. The trust the people have placed in you,” he said.

Citing his own case as an appointee of the Queen, he said he has to live up to the trust of the Queen, and by extension the whole country.

“One thing I would tell my successor, please keep supporting the war against corruption. There is nothing more important for the future of Kenya than this. I will also do what we can as the UK to support the cases against those big people who need to go to trial,” he urged.

Do not publish the list

The envoy notes that though Kenyans are anxious to see the ‘big fish’ behind bars, the cases tend to drag because they have capacity to slow them using among others their access to illegal wealth stashed in other countries.

“I can’t talk about people’s immigration status individually, but there are people who have not travelled to the UK for some years now because of their involvement in corruption or other forms of criminality,” he discloses.

Hailey says they do not publish the list of people they have barred and this may have created the wrong impression that the UK is doing nothing.

On repatriation of cash stashed abroad he says: “People sometimes ask why money is not coming back. The reason is people have not been convicted. What I hope is that when we do get convictions, will be able to bring the money back because we have the framework in place and know how it’s going to happen.”

He cites the Chicken-gate scandal, involving former IEBC officials and British printing firm, Smith & Ouzman, where a total of Sh59 million in bribes code-named chicken, was paid to electoral and examination officials.

“Those guys were fined, put in prison and they paid fines which we brought back to Kenya, bought ambulances and handed them over,” he stated.

Hailey will be replaced by Jane Marriot, the current director of the UK’s Joint International Counter-Terrorism unit.