Kibaki Must Wield Club Daily Nation 11 May 2004 Page: 8
The sentiments expressed by a number of political leaders over the weekend on the issue of corruption by the ruling elite should send the alarm bells ringing in the highest echelons of government.
Only last week, Mr John Githongo admitted that corruption had taken root in the Narc administration. He should know. As permanent secretary in charge of Ethics and Governance, he is principally charged with alerting the Government the moment it starts dirtying its hands.
Mr Githongo decried the return of the corrupt networks that held the state hostage during the Nyayo era. This time, of course, these cowboys are working with a clique of individuals who, before the 2002 elections, were holier-than-thou, squeaky clean, and almost dirt poor.
Today, they are flush with cash and speculation is rife as to where they could have got their sudden riches. Now, none other than President Kibakis long-time friend, Mr Njenga Karume, has decried rampant corruption among the Presidents close associates.
He has cautioned him that the Government has no business concentrating on the graft of the past while ignoring the stink all around him. The answer? Mr Kibaki must deal with the culprits, however close they might be to him, otherwise Kenyans will lose faith in his government.
What has brought to the fore the issue of present-day rapacity is the Sh2.7 billion passport scandal in which a number of high-ranking individuals have been mentioned in an unfavourable light. Now it emerges that Sh91 million may already have been paid to a ghost company in the same shady deal, which, if true, simply means that this huge amount has been stolen from taxpayers. And this at a time when the convoluted Goldenberg scandal is unravelling in amazing details with each passing day!
And this at a time that the donor community are said to have withheld their pledged loans and grants due to the corruption spectre and the incessant bickering among the ruling elite! There are many reasons the President must take decisive action, not only to stem the creeping grand corruption which has already tainted his government, but also to teach a salutary lesson.
The way to begin is to relieve this clique, whose names are already being associated with avarice and larceny, from their responsibilities in government. In short, the sooner the President wields the big club, the better for the country and for himself.