Time to walk the talk on war against graft

Corruption has emerged as the single most vexed challenge afflicting the nation and threatens to derail economic progress as well as social and political stability. Despite express political statements, the fight against the vice proceeds in fits and starts, bringing to question commitment to the crusade.

Last year, the government carried out a major shake-up of the agencies responsible for the fight against corruption. In this context, President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed new directors for the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions. A few months ago, a new director was appointed at the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.

Upon ascending to office, the new directors mounted aggressive crackdowns on corruption in government, reining in bigwigs such as principal secretaries and parastatal chiefs suspected of perpetrating the vice and pressing criminal charges against them in courts.

The onslaught, however, seems to have died. Most of those cases have stalled in courts either because of the slow judicial progress or poor investigations. Some of the charges apparently may not hold and the cases may collapse and render nugatory efforts to clamp down on graft.

Worse, grand cases of corruption continue to unfold by the day despite the government’s pledge to weed it out. Further, the vice plays out at the national and county government levels, demonstrating how extensive the networks have expanded.

This week, EACC hosted a major convention in Nairobi to commemorate the African Anti-Corruption Day and whose theme was ‘Towards a common African position on asset recovery’.

Arguably, this was timely for Kenya that is at a crossroads and much was expected out of it. However, the convention served more as a platform for fulmination rather than action, yet that is what concerns the public.

There is outpouring of anger over the fact that the government is unable to tame corruption. Not only are the investigating agencies and courts failing, but the government has not demonstrated strong will to end graft. Not when top government officials are deeply involved and when the proceeds of graft are used to buy freedoms. And when top politicians openly support those implicated in corruption because of ethnic or regional considerations.

Importantly, the public expects the government to apprehend and recover assets and incomes generated through graft and ultimately plough them back to boost government revenues. There is urgency to recover those assets running into billions of shillings besides punishing the culprits. Corruption must be made painful.

The point is that President Kenyatta must lead the fight from the front. EACC, DCI and DPP as well as the courts must prioritise the war on corruption.