Corruption has spiralled under Jubilee government’s watch

NAIROBI: ‘Tofauti iliyoko kati ya Jubilee na CORD ni kama giza na mchana’ - (the difference between Jubilee and CORD is like day and night) - Deputy President William Ruto. When the DP publicly uttered these words, he was out to extol the virtues of his political party of choice while deriding the prickly Opposition. Time has proven Mr Ruto’s opine right and indeed, the difference between the two parties is stark.

At least 90 per cent of Kenyans were in the dark after the Jubilee government switched off the three major television stations in the country. As a median of communication and bridging the distance gap, television has aided millions of Kenyans in keeping abreast with news across the world. In line with the maxim ‘you can tell a man’s character by the company he keeps’, the government appears to have borrowed the communist ideals of restraining the media which has been instrumental in bringing to the public domain the evil that those who purport to lead us to Canaan have been subjecting us to.

Thanks to KTN, NTV and Citizen, Kenyans were able to watch policemen teargas Lang’ata Road Primary School pupils in Nairobi protesting the grabbing of the school’s playground. Despite some high ranking officials being linked to the land from past association, there was an attempted cover up by apportioning blame to obscure hapless Singh’s who are yet to be apprehended. While Kenyans were demanding to be told who the influential people behind land grabbing in the Karen saga were, they were made to run through circles at such a furious pace they felt dizzy after a while and abandoned the attempt. The matter has been left to quietly die away.

Anglo Leasing is one of the biggest scams to have plagued the country. History will bear witness it was the Jubilee administration that okayed and effected Sh1.5 billion payment, which might as well have legalised Anglo Leasing. Corruption thrives under Jubilee’s watch. The fining of Goodyear Tyre company officials in the US highlights the dark stain corruption has left on the government whose institutions were adversely mentioned in the Goodyear sleaze.

Last year, it was reported that a corruption syndicate dubbed Sky team operated at the highest echelons of power days after the President had publicly acknowledged there were inherited corruption cartels at his office.

Under Jubilee, Parliament is a circus. The ‘tyranny of numbers’ troupe operating from the precincts of the august House has so debased it that Motions adopted by Parliament are mostly passed or struck off by the courts. Last December, the tyranny of numbers troupe attempted to shackle Kenyans with the security laws, which had some provisions that negated the supreme law. Even with the corruption cases before it, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission appears to be a toothless bulldog with a very loud bark but nothing else. EACC would rather arrest traffic policemen taking bribes and hail this as a big step in fighting corruption.

• .

  Keep Reading

• 
  Oil deal debate rekindles other regimes' grand corruption cases

Faced with possible eviction from Integrity Centre, it will be years before EACC organises itself well enough to proceed with high profile cases, especially when files occasionally take a walk. Is the reluctance to go for the masterminds of corruption dictated by the dread of a ripple effect? The inference one gets from such reluctance is that the top echelons of leadership are so pervaded by corruption that nobody is too keen on opening the can of worms lest they start crawling all over  them.

Compared to a domestic set up, the government is the head of the house, while the Opposition is the gate-man. When the head of the family starts to peg his success on that of the watchman, at times blaming him for his shortcomings, then clearly, there is a problem. I have no doubt in my mind that there is more of the darkness on the Jubilee side than anywhere else.