Daily Nation ­ Tuesday
Date: 29.11.2016
Page 14
Article size: 601 cm2
ColumnCM: 133.55
AVE: 288480.00
CORRUPTION
God help us! Anti­graft war has
been reduced to a dynastic feud
Act 1, Scene 1. Somewhere in
present day Kenya...
was more than a mere public
relations stunt. Our scepti­
cism was justified, going by
the route the fake war against
graft has taken.
fight against corruption. To
come from your father, Jomo,
who was the original land­
grabber, the original king of
corruption.
Uhuru: Ngai! You are just
jealous, the perpetual bad
start with all those mentioned
loser who will never taste
adversely must step aside.
Raila Odinga: You step
aside, you lead a government
power. How about your father,
Jaramogi, the one behind the
Luo Thrift and Trading Com­
pany who impoverished his
own people? He was the origi­
nal prince of poverty.
himself and passed the buck
to line agencies such as the
Ethics and Anti­Corruption
Corruption and the Kenya
Uhuru Kenyatta: My gov­
ernment is committed to the
of thieves!
Uhuru: So what? You are
also a thief.
The President has declared
Police Directorate of Crimi­
Raila: Eurobond! National
Youth Service! Ministry of
Health!
Uhuru: That is unfair. You
are targeting my stalwarts, my
innocent hard­working min­
isters. Haven't you also been
stealing? How about Kisumu
Molasses? And you are shield­
ing your party governors who
are stealing county govern­
ment funds.
Raila: No, no, no! Those
are whistle­blowers. In any
case your Jubilee governors
are stealing more than my
Cord governors. Mine are
just trying to attain equity as
demanded by the new Con­
stitution, but they are being
targeted by an evil conspiracy
of the Auditor­General, the
media, and Jubilee opera­
Flashback: The early years...
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga:
You, Jomo, have betrayed the
struggle for uhuru, grabbing
all the land and wealth for
yourself.
Mzee Jomo Kenyatta:
Bloody #@#£& communist!
What have you done for
yourself? We are building the
nation, but you will remain
poor, and you will never see
power!
Jaramogi: Bloody #@#£&
thieving, land­grabbing capi­
talist roader!
Young Uhuru: Listen, they
are quarrelling again, but I
bet my daddy can beat your
daddy.
Young Raila: Don't you
mess with me, or I'll kick your
tives...
backside!
Uhuru: No, no, no, you are
stealing my lines. It's me who
is a victim of your evil machi­
nations. The media has always
been in your pocket, and the
Auditor­General, his name
betrays him. The new Consti­
Young Uhuru: I can pee far­
ther than you.
Young Raila: Mine is bigger
than yours...
tution is to blame.
Raila: Nonsense! You are
corruption personified, the
leader of a band of thieves
who hold on to power and
impoverish Kenya. The genes
Yes, this is what Kenya has
been reduced to. The fight
against corruption has been
abandoned, and replaced by
inane finger­pointing.
It looks like it was so long
ago that President Uhuru
Kenyatta raised hopes that
The real signs that
the war against
corruption has
been abandoned came,
however, when the
government instead
misdirected all efforts
to tarring those
campaigning against
corruption"
he was finally waking up to
the grave threat runaway
graft poses to his government
and to the national fabric.
At the end of May last year,
he delivered a fighting State
of the Nation speech in Par­
liament, declaring that the
days of wanton graft were
over. He demanded the exit
of scores of senior public of­
ficers, including five Cabinet
secretaries, who were under
investigation. Not long after­
wards, he declared corruption
a threat to national security.
The country rightly cheered
the new tough stance, but
nal Investigations, who have
proved themselves nothing
more than willing lapdogs of
State House. They conduct
anti­graft investigations and
prosecutions that are no more
than smoke and mirrors, tar­
geting errand boys and minor
miscreants while shielding the
real movers and shakers.
The real signs that the war
against corruption has been
abandoned came, however,
when the government stopped
all pretence and instead mis­
directed all efforts to tarring
those campaigning against
corruption.
Thus the problem in Kenya
is not corruption, but opposi­
tion leader Raila Odinga, civil
society, the media, and others
who have exposed rampant
vice. The Jubilee propaganda
mill from the social media
mercenaries and the politi­
cal soapbox warmongers was
mobilised to wage war against
Raila. The opposition chief
replied in kind.
And that is how we ended
up with that stuck record of
the Kenyatta­Odinga dynastic
feud instead of a real anti­cor­
ruption war.
We are truly on our own.
some of us held back judge­
ment until it became clear
[email protected]. @Ma­
that what we were seeing
chariaGaitho
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya