Shielding suspects is bad for war on graft

The public is increasingly getting disenchanted over the war on corruption. Political intrigues and machinations are scuttling all the efforts. Politicians have become the greatest impediment to the drive. Most of them are perpetrators and ardent defenders of corruption. They condemn it in public, but promote and partake of its proceeds in the dark.

Indeed, money obtained through corruption is being used to buy political support and laundered through various activities, mainly huge fundraisers that have, regrettably, roped in the faiths. Institutions and individuals leading the anti-graft campaigns are vilified and intimidated.

At the weekend, Deputy President William Ruto stoked fires when he publicly defended Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu, who is at the centre of a financial scandal that is under investigation by the Senate. Mr Ruto, who occupies the second-highest office in the land, and who took oath to protect the rule of law, had the audacity to defend the governor on a matter that is essentially criminal. It goes against what he professes and undermines President Kenyatta’s resolve to eradicate the vice.

What that means is that the DP has no qualms about corruption and negates all efforts to tame the menace that is killing the country. And that is unfortunate for a person who aspires for the national presidency. He does not give confidence that he can be trusted with public resources.

We have argued often that the challenge with corruption is that it is tightly intertwined with politics, power and influence. It’s those in authority and places of responsibility who loot from the public coffers and, in turn, use their influence and connections to fight off arrests and sanctions. Many corruption cases have stalled due to deliberately poor investigations, paralysing the judicial process through dubious machinations or outright bribery of the court officers.

The case in point is outlandish. An audited report of Kiambu County’s financial expenditures shows that the administration pumped some Sh2.1 billion into national functions such as upkeep of retired Presidents, South Sudan peace talks and free primary education, which are not within its purview.

Huge scandals such as the suspected loss of Sh20 billion paid for dams that were never built and others in the National Youth Service, Kenya Pipeline Company, Kenya Power, and National Cereals and Produce Board have not been resolved. It is exceedingly upsetting when cases are discovered and, instead of the suspects being prosecuted, they are defended by the top leadership. Leaders must desist from politicising corruption matters.