President Uhuru Kenyatta needs support in war on graft

This year's State of the Nation address by President Uhuru Kenyatta will remain unforgettable in the history of this country since we achieved our independence. It is the date that a president has taken the boldest step to attempt to address the corruption question in this country.

The President took the unprecedented step of tabling before the National Assembly a list of 175 persons to be investigated within 60 days by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for various corruption allegations.

Just to show how Mr Kenyatta's step was radical and unexpected, some of the Members of Parliament across the political divide who applauded him in the floor of the House for tabling the list felt cheated later after realising their names were in the 'list of shame'.

As usual, they thought the list contained "others", not them. Perhaps they were justified to think that way; because the history of the fight against corruption shows that they are among the untouchables.

Further, the war on corruption has in the past been about petty offenders like traffic police officers and not the ruling class.

Nonetheless, it is not debatable that corruption remains a major impediment to development since independence and that it has condemned Kenya to remain as a third-world economy as compared to its peers in the 1970s like Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea.

Additionally, it has also condemned a majority of Kenyans to live in squalor.

Therefore, the desire to urgently address this problem cannot be understated. With the roll-out of devolution, there are reports indicating a significant rise in corruption incidence.

In this regard, since Mr Kenyatta's State of the Nation address, there has been an intense national debate on the issue of corruption that does not appear likely to die soon.

In particular, the Opposition, which had previously demanded that Mr Kenyatta addresses corruption, has led a spirited campaign against Mr Kenyatta's anti-corruption efforts.

Mr Kenyatta has come out strongly in public and by actions to address the corruption problem in the country despite the heavy political risks that accompany such efforts.

His tabling of names before the National Assembly has borne fruit and even reinvigorated the fight against graft, which had almost come to a halt.

Out of the list, two Cabinet secretaries, five Members of Parliament, one senator, two commissioners, four chief executive officers of public institutions, 41 officials of public institutions, 46 county officials, and 14 officials of private companies have been prosecuted for various offences.

This is despite the fact that EACC has not finished investigations of some cases before it.

In addition, it's only under Mr Kenyatta's administration, which is barely in the mid-term of its first term, that grand corruption has been prosecuted in Kenya.

The suspects of the infamous Anglo Leasing scandals carried over from two previous governments finally had their day in court after many efforts.

In this respect, there is need for all citizens to support the current war against corruption as it cannot be left to the President alone.

In any case, citizens would be the major beneficiaries of a corrupt-free society and thus cannot be bystanders in such a process.

Above all, this support must extend to all independent offices that directly or indirectly deal with corruption issues in Government. Such offices such as that of the Auditor General, Controller of Budget, Director of Public Prosecutions, Inspector General, Kenya Revenue Authority and Financial Reporting Centre have significant roles to play in the war against graft.