1206PRESIDENT UHURU KENYATTA NEEDS ALL THE SUPPORT TO FIGHT CORRUPTION IN KENYA
By Dr.David Nyekorach - Matsanga In his second term things have drastically changed. A changed man a tough talking President - My Pan African brother is not leaving any stone unturned in the fight against CORRUPTION in Kenya . The likening of corrupt cult of government officials by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Madaraka Day in Kinoru, Meru, to colonial gangsters, was a great move in whipping public support and confidence and in writing a new chapter in the fight against corruption. The message was clear and is written on the wall, emphatic and resounding: It will no longer be business as usual for the thieves and cartels! The President has served these traitors a notice of intention; he has both the imagination and plan to curtail the ceaseless orgy of public theft and reign of larceny in public offices. In my Pan African considered opinion, the President should have gone a notch higher and liken these destiny-destroyers to genocide masterminds, if anything, their continued illegal activities amount to economic genocide. Through their nefarious activities of looting and senselessly vandalizing the public purse; these greedy men and women have recklessly continued to subject the nation to untold economic hemorrhage whose attendant result is death, destruction, hopeless-ness, and national retardation. It is because of them, that Kenya’s independence dream remains a permanent recurring decimal. It is because of cartels , that maize farmers are today mourning unmitigatable loses. It is because of them; that the genuine businessmen are committing suicide or dying of frustrations because of being defrauded off their payments for goods supplied. It is because of cartels that Kenya will be paying loans that negligibly benefitted the public to whom the money was borrowed. For hypothetical purposes, let’s stop for a minute and think about an overly pregnant woman headed to the hospital, only to die at the facility because money meant to buy medicine and related equipment have been embezzled by a few greedy villains who put the nation second to their narcissistic benefits. With all fairness, such public officials should be charged with mass murder, the way USA President is suggesting handling drug peddlers. Today, beautiful facts are peddled around how in 1963 Kenya’s economy was at par with Sweden, South Korea, Singapore, Norway who curiously today are soaring economic eagles, as the nation still welters in the throes of poverty amid plenty, thanks to corrupt practices of a few, and flippant attitude of the then governments to crack the whip and obliterate the vice. President Uhuru Kenyatta must therefore be permanently and overwhelmingly supported in his current war against these criminal perpetrators. Subsequent move by the President to issue a directive to interdict all accountants and public schools procurement officers pending rigorous vetting including lifestyle audits should be lauded by all. Introduction of a lie detector is a clincher. Public service should and must remain self sacrifice for the betterment of the nation, and not brooding hub where stealing is nurtured and exemplified to deny citizens from the scheme of national cake. Importantly, Kenyans in their wisdom must be unambiguously reminded that corruption has no tribe, race, ideology, religion or political affiliation. Irresponsible misguided chorus’s from paid-up ethnic songbirds and political fraudsters that “their sons and daughters are being victimized”, Kenyans should invite investigations into the wider network of thievery beneficiaries including these very distractive noisy bodyguards of corruption monster. Corruption is stealing from the public coffers or conniving with other related actors to offer sub-standard public goods and services as in cases of roads and bridges in order to swindle the balance, and such corrupt persons do it for their own selfish interest not communal gain or any national austerity measure to save the tax payers. The war to drain this swamp must be brutal, career-threatening with prolonged jail terms to serve as a deterrent that Kenya is no longer a heaven where every criminal aspire to end. Like in China where all appointed senior public officials are taken on a prison tour to forewarn them that in the likely event that they engage in financial impropriety or any illegal activity beyond their job description, prison waits, is what should have been done in Kenya. In South Korea, three former Presidents are already paying for their crimes in Prison. Malaysia is in the process of brutally cracking the whip. Rwanda and Cape Verde leads the trail in Africa. We are not shot of lessons to borrow and benchmarks to study from.
MY WAY FORWARD. This is a dicey war, its’ success will be dependent on political goodwill and greater cooperation from relevant multi-agencies.
TREASONABLE OFFENSE First off; it is time, President Uhuru takes advantage of the handshake with Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga and lobby the numbers in parliament to amend the Ethics and Anti-corruption Act, thereby making corruption a TREASONABLE OFFENSE punishable by DEATH or LIFE IN PRISON. Common wisdom is that nobody would steal, knowing he/she will never enjoy the wealth as they rot in prison for life.
MORIBUND EACC Secondly; EACC is a moribund, grossly ineffective and a dangerously idealess cesspool of failure. Time has come to kiss it goodbye! Their professional antenna perpetually remains sufficiently insensitive to pick up corruption. The shoddiness manner, flippant approach and little or insignificant results, paints this institution as a financial black hole where Kenyans continue to lose lots of money. The paradox in this institution is that it’s part of the problem, than the solution. They are part of the criminal empire fleecing Kenyans for doing absolutely nothing. This toothless agency can’t bark, can’t bite and should be disbanded urgently.
OFFICE DPP Thirdly; ODPP needs serious, experienced and thoroughly professional lawyers to successfully prosecute these cases. They need to borrow a leaf from the concept of “special counsels” in the USA, where today special counsel Robert Muller is prosecuting the matter of Russian involvement in the USA elections. Earlier was special counsel Kenneth Starr in the issue of Monica Lewinsky and President Clinton. As things are, prosecution has been notoriously famed for producing weak, tangential and worthy cases in areas where serious crime is suspected to have occurred. Their performance in court has never been anything to smile about. Parliament needs to increase funds here, and the DPP Mr. Haji with his background from NIS must rise up to the occasion.
JUDCIARY Fourthly; Judiciary: Corruption ecosystem has extendedf to form an impermeable canopy at the judiciary. To delay and consequently defeated by justice; this institution is emerging with a deplorable trend where they easily dish out injunctions, intentionally delay hearing of cases, and issue very light bail amount to people who loot colossal amounts of money from the public, so that they can come out and bribe witnesses and compromise the investigations. This pattern is not accidental; it’s carefully choreographed atrocious activity to undermine the war on graft. Justice Maraga must rise to the occasion in reforming this dishonest ideology. Corruption should have special courts and designated judges who serve a term based on strict performance contract.
IN CONCLUSION In conclusion, this war must cascade every element of government including the 47 counties which has minted overnight village millionaires building flashy homes across the length and breadth of rural Kenya. Some of those villagers were yesterday struggling to eat, yet today after supplying air to county governments, they are able to build palatial homes and fly their children to the most expensive private schools in America, and some have now married 15 wives. If you ask them Which profitable business is this that miraculously transforms broke “businessmen” into overnight millionaires like Aladdin’s magic lamp , no one gives a straight answer These criminals must be pummeled like piñata to end corruption’s stubborn persistence, and its’ devastating afflictions to the nation and its citizens. This my contribution. God bless Kenya Dr. David Nyekorach Matsanga.
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