Washing dirty linen in public is good for war on graft

By Otuma OngaloYou have probably heard of the fate that befell the Kilkenny cats. It is a fairy tale about two cats that fought so viciously and ate each other until only the tips of their tails remained.This week, Water Minister Charity Ngilu and Public Works Assistant Minister Mwangi Kiunjuri engaged each other in a vicious war, which Parliament unfortunately halted before it went the Kilkenny cats’ way.A good fight — to the relief of the combatants — was brought to a premature end just when Mrs Ngilu and Mr Kiunjuri were about to unleash killer punches. When leaders wash their dirty linen in public over graft related issues, they unveil information that no investigative agency can unearth. In moments of anger, under the glare of television cameras, and cheered on by supporters, they spill more beans than they will do when facing dull parliamentary committees.Regardless of the verdict of the committee, wananchi already know Ngilu converted a national project to home charity. They have seen an angry Kiunjuri not necessarily eager to fight corruption but to settle scores for whatever sins of commission and omission that Ngilu might have committed against him while he was her assistant minister. A good fight he has fought but he owes wananchi an explanation why the move from Water ministry to Public Works seems to have rubbed him the wrong way.As folks in Kamukuywa say, when you blame the fox you should also blame the hen for straying into the forest. Last Saturday, I blamed Ngilu over her water projects based on the information generously provided by Kiunjuri but if the dossier she unleashed in counter attack is credible, he should help the minister carry her cross.Parliament has been doing a good job in the war against graft but wananchi do not trust waheshimiwa fully in this grand war. Many of them fight corruption with hidden agenda. They cherish the war if their perceived political opponents are in trouble or as a matter of sour grapes. Like Kilkenny cats, the tainted among them should be left to viciously fight to their doom.Quite often the oracle guides me but this time round it has failed to tell me how many tails we will end up collecting if the 222 Members of Parliament fight each other after accusations and counter accusations over corruption continue coming up. It is possible a couple of them will remain intact but still they won’t escape unscathed over the sins of association. Do you remember the biblical story of Ananias and his wife Sapphira?Ananias and his wife were among the disciples who sold their property for proceeds to be distributed among Christians in Jerusalem. Ananias, with his wife’s full knowledge, kept part of the money but cheated the apostles that he had surrendered to them everything. When Peter exposed his lie, he was struck dead. Moments later his wife appeared before the apostles and repeated the lie. She suffered the same fate.The untainted men and women in Parliament, like Ananias’ wife, know some of the evils of their colleagues but would rather lie about them or keep mum altogether. Matters only come to the fore after fallouts or shift in political alliances. It is not by coincidence that whenever there is a whiff of scandal over ODM politicians, it is those in PNU who shout loudest and vice versa.Perhaps one of the best decisions taken during the formation of the Grand Coalition Government is to appoint ministers and their assistants from rival political parties.In most cases, "eating" together has been a problem and the result is media leakages that have led to political downfall of some politicians. And this seems to be the season of chickens coming home to roost.&#12288;&#12288;

Washing dirty linen in public is good for war on graft

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