When I was much younger, something like 10 years ago (how time flies!), six million fellow Kenyans were extremely excited: a new Sheriff and his deputy had hit town, and they were promising to cleanse the Augean stables of corruption without fear or favour. Those were heady days, and because the incoming Jubilee administration comprised of youthful and energetic individuals leading a team of techno-savvy ministers, we hoped they would perform wonders.
Well, they didn’t, and President Uhuru Kenyatta acknowledged as much on Wednesday during his final Madaraka Day address. He did not need to say it. Whatever effort he made, he seemed to be working at cross-purposes with powerful subordinates who had no intention of dismantling the entrenched graft cartels that had long perfected the art of state capture. Indeed, the ability to wrestle the lords of corruption was stymied from the word go because the political will had long been compromised by greed.
Criminal Investigations
The progressive 2010 Constitution did not help either. This document set up numerous state organs to fight graft, but they too became almost useless because they were soon infiltrated by vicious lords of corruption who worked below the surface to thwart every effort made to eradicate the vice. Neither the revamped Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, nor the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, which are manned by competent staff, seemed to make any difference.
Kenyans have waited for 10 long years to see any major thief languishing in the dungeons but to no avail. Always, there are good reasons why even those investigated and prosecuted for economic crimes that in other countries would see them executed, are still roaming merrily along the street without any fear of ever paying for their crimes. After all, “the law is clear” on the sacrosanctity of the presumption of innocence principle. But, of course, this principle is the only safeguard against the miscarriage of justice.
The trouble is, criminals are not only seeking public office, they are being elected with huge majorities. Kenya must be the only country in the world where convicted felons can be cleared by the electoral body to vie for office on the grounds that their appeals are pending. It must be the only country in which a trial hearing is postponed so that a suspect can get time to campaign. Indeed, it must be the only country where a county executive impeached over theft can be cleared to vie for the same job in another jurisdiction. Truly, in matters of fighting graft, Kenya is a hilarious joke.
Theatre of the absurd
The major enabler in this tragedy is, unfortunately, our Judiciary. Can someone explain to me how a suspect facing graft charges – on top of an even more serious charge – has been running the affairs of a county since 2020? While it is expedient to blame the Executive, we should not forget other players in this theatre of the absurd.
The Judiciary is a vital arm of government, but it is also the greatest bottleneck in the war against sleaze. It is not enough to say that it is guided by the Constitution. If the law fails to serve the purpose for which it was enacted, shouldn’t it be amended?
This, obviously, is a simplistic solution, but we cannot keep blaming the DCI for not carrying out proper investigations when all sorts of hurdles keep getting in the way of successful prosecution. There should be some sort of deterrence, especially in matters of graft, so that those implicated in wrongdoing can no longer walk around claiming they are being persecuted for political reasons.
The idea of someone who has numerous charges hanging over his head ascending to high political office is absolutely horrifying.
Jubilee administration
Graft in Kenya did not start with the Jubilee administration; it is as old as our independence days. Every regime since has had its share of scandals. To be fair, a number of small-fry rogues were jailed during Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s administration, but only if they fell afoul of the powers-that-be. However, it is difficult to remember how many such fellows were even prosecuted during President Moi’s long reign.
The country got some kind of respite during President Kibaki’s first term, but things got back to “normal” in his second, despite the high-decibel noises about zero-tolerance and radical surgery of the Judiciary.
The Jubilee administration did not even let us enjoy that moment of grace. Every attempt at fighting corruption was thwarted by the Judiciary especially during President Kenyatta’s second term. As a result, nobody of any note has been punished for raiding public coffers in the past 10 years.
It is not lost on many that the only exhortation the President made during his Madaraka Day address was for the incoming administration to fight graft. By so doing, he signalled that his administration had utterly failed.
Incidentally, on this issue, only one coalition of parties has publicly stated its stand. This is curious because much as economic revival is an agenda for all, if graft is not tamed, everything else will be wishful thinking.
