E-Clips:- Business Pictorial - It's Another Blow To Kibaki

Yesterday's resignation of the permanent secretary in charge of Governance and Ethics, Mr John Githongo, is a major blow to an administration that keeps hopping from one crisis to another.

It creates a major credibility problem for President Kibaki himself and his entire administration and lends credence to the widely-held view that Narc is not keen on uprooting corruption. Coming so soon after last week's stinging broadside by British envoy Edward Clay over high corruption in the Government, the timing could not have been worse for the Kibaki administration.

Yet, Mr Githongos exit should not be surprising. For the two years he has been in office, despite his well-considered strategy to tackle corruption, he kept running into stone walls everywhere as many in that Government never shared his vision. They wasted no chance to block his crusade and, on many occasions, sought to cut him down. During the Cabinet reshuffle last year, Mr Githongo was temporarily shoved out of the Office of the President and posted to work under Justice and Constitutional minister Kiraitu Murungi - until the public's outcry became too much.

But it is the events of the past few weeks that must have been the final straw. Among them was the extremely callous way that powerful figures in Government have handled the Anglo Leasing scam, which so far stands out as the worst scandal in the Narc administration. While Mr Githongo publicly stated that investigations were complete and cases awaiting trial, the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission boss, Mr Aaron Ringera, who is mandated to prosecute such cases, was openly lukewarm, insisting that there was no adequate evidence for court action.

Minister Murungi, who is responsible for the anti-corruption campaign, went further to throw cold water on the scandal, saying it was not a big deal, after all. In his estimation, the whole thing had been played out of proportion. and the likes of Githongo were merely splitting hairs. Add to the growing list of ministers being mentioned in underhand dealings every day and President Kibaki's apparent inability to act, and it was only a matter of time before frustration overcame Mr Githongo.

Things getting out of hand

Here was a man fighting a lone battle, with political insiders foiling his every move. Here was a man whose boss was aloof as things were getting out of hand. Clearly, in such circumstances, the only noble thing to do was to walk out.

Paradoxically, when President Kibaki appointed Mr Githongo to that office, he made a definite statement that in the drive against graft, he would lead from the front.

For good measure, Mr Githongo had direct access to the President and, unlike other permanent secretaries, he had two offices - one at State House and the other in town. To underscore his clarity of purpose about the task ahead, Mr Githongo kept repeating that any new government had only a two-year grace period to deliver on the fight against graft or face public opprobrium.

The two years are now over and the public are asking some tough questions. What is President Kibaki's real stand on the war against graft? Why is he so quiet when nothing is going right? What became of his pledge during his inaugural speech that no effort would be spared in the war? For some sycophants in Government, Mr Githongo's resignation will be dismissed as inconsequential. Others may even say that he was playing to the public gallery or serving some foreign masters.

But the fact remains that the President has lost a key lieutenant and his Government's most credible symbol in the fight against a scourge he pledged to eliminate. His indecisiveness in dealing with corruption is costing him credibility and the public support he needs to win the war. Before he finds himself an isolated man surrounded only by "eating chiefs," the President needs to take a sober assessment of his administration and crack the whip where necessary to convince the public that he can walk the talk.