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The arrest last year of Nairobi’s Governor Mike Sonko has plunged our country’s most populous metropolis into a leadership crisis. Accused of facilitating the transfer of and benefitting from illicit payments, to the tune of Sh 357 million, Sonko’s arrest was ordered by public prosecutor Noordin Haji, who gave the green light, believing that there is sufficient evidence to prosecute the now former Nairobi Governor for a long list of economic crimes.
These include illegally obtaining public property as well as money laundering. Sonko’s arrest was not the only one, with another 12 associates arrested, all accused of similar crimes.
High profile arrests such as these are an integral part of Uhuru’s battle against corruption. With our country ranked 144th out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s most recent Corruption Perceptions Index, serious steps must now be taken in order to restore public and international confidence in our leadership.
The arrests of senior political and businesses figures sends a clear message that anyone who facilitates corruption and benefits from it, even indirectly, will face the consequences.
Though this battle against graft is not a new one, there is no doubt it has been intensified in recent years. To a large degree, Uhuru has staked his reputation on the anti-graft fight, stating that “this is something I am determined to leave as my legacy”.
Forming a unified front that transcends party lines has been instrumental in these efforts, with politicians across the board expressing support. These have included Deputy William Ruto and Opposition leader Raila Odinga. While they may have their political differences, the understanding that corruption in any form is detrimental to Kenyan society has led to unity in the fight against it.
The economic cost of corruption should not be underplayed. Money stolen from the people is money that could have been invested in our future.
Thus, for example, the $17 million that went missing from the accounts of the National Youth Service in 2015 directly impacted thousands of our country’s youth who subsequently could not undergo vocational training. The famous Euro Bond swindle came at the expense of our creditworthiness and subsequent access to international funding.
Corruption has a very obvious cost paid by hard-working people. This is something that Uhuru understands must change and has been working tirelessly to fight.
A successful model for the fight against corruption has been that of Botswana, where the government has been actively fighting corruption for the past three decades.
Key to their successful fight has been the governmental support offered and legal backing afforded to those working to eradicate corruption.
This was epitomised by the passing of the Corruption and Economic Crime Act (CECA) and the creation of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC). These steps eventually led to Botswana being ranked by the World Bank in 2006 as the most proactive country in Africa fighting corruption.
Uhuru has made use of similar institutions in Kenya, namely the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, in order to support his war on graft. Replacing the heads of the agency in 2015 when it was rocked by a scandal, Uhuru has since made this organisation a focal point of his efforts to clean up our public institutions.
In the case of former Governor Sonko, the commission played an integral role in both the investigation and the lodging of the formal allegations necessary to facilitate his arrest.
The centralisation of the battle against corruption in this one organisation has been instrumental in guaranteeing ethical behaviour, maintaining good governance and ensuring transparency.
The battle against corruption is not one which is won overnight. In order to truly be comprehensively addressed, this requires a multifaceted approach that involves legal tools, punitive measures as well as education and cultural changes in society. The fight against poverty and improvement of our quality of life is similarly an important part of this. This battle, despite its complexity, needs to begin somewhere.
Uhuru’s work to set examples of high-level government officials accused of corruption, as well as empowering those bodies fighting graft, has been a good place to start. We are on the right path, and we need to keep going. Our future depends on it!
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