Whistle-blowers crucial in fighting corruption

A disturbing trend is taking root in Kenya. A culture of intolerance largely targeting individuals that expose wrongdoings by public officers is mounting.

The most recent incident was last month, when blogger Abraham Mutai was arrested in Mombasa and carted off to Nairobi where he was detained for close to 24 hours and then released.

The arrest was closely followed by the temporary suspension of his Twitter account and blogs. Over the past two months, Mr Mutai had published information, backed by documentary evidence, of alleged corruption in a public agency and some county governments on his online platforms.

It is as surprising as it is disturbing that a whistle-blower rather than being embraced by the official system should be harassed and vilified for playing a most critical role of calling attention to wrongdoing.

This is inconsistent with the oft stated commitment to the fight against corruption and crime generally. It is worth noting that for every investigation or prosecution that is carried out, there is inevitably a whistle-blower involved.

It is becoming clear by the day that in our present environment, blowing the whistle carries a high personal risk – particularly when there is little legal protection against dismissal, humiliation or even physical abuse.

Just as it was for David Munyakei in the Goldenberg scandal and John Githongo in the Anglo-Leasing scandal in the 1990s and 2000s respectively, whistleblowers in 2015 face retaliation in the form of harassment, dismissal from employment, blacklisting, threats and even physical violence, and their disclosures are routinely ignored.

One of the biggest challenges in preventing and fighting corruption lies in detecting and exposing bribery, fraud, theft of public funds and other acts of wrongdoing. This is especially true in Kenya as a vast majority of Kenyans will not report corruption when they encounter it.

The East African Bribery Index 2014 published by Transparency International Kenya shows that nine out of 10 Kenyans who encountered bribery while seeking public services did not report the incident. Varied reasons were given for non-reporting, among them the fear of reprisal or intimidation.

Whistle-blowing is one of the most effective ways of detecting fraud and wrongdoing and facilitating measures to minimise or to prevent further losses. One would therefore expect the relevant authorities to act on information provided by whistle-blowers by conducting further investigations on the alleged corruption incidents, rather than oppress whistle-blowers.

Individuals that come forward to disclose wrongdoing should be embraced and protected, not harassed and ostracised.

In order to encourage whistle-blowers in Kenya to step forward with information, we need to minimise the risks theys face as a result of disclosure.

An effective whistle-blower management and protection system begins and ends with strong policies that clearly and emphatically send a two-fold message that: the Government embraces good faith whistle-blowing; and the whistle-blower will suffer no adverse repercussions as a result of bringing an issue to the attention of those in authority or the public.

We recognise the effort that various stakeholders have invested so far in realising a whistle-blower policy and law. The Department of Justice has been spearheading this process, which Transparency International Kenya supports.

A good whistle-blower protection policy and law will go a long way in protecting people like Mr Mutai, who come forth with reports of corruption and attract reprisals for their actions. Mr Mutai's experience ought to add impetus to the process.

The Office of the Attorney General, under which the Department of Justice falls, should expedite the finalisation of the legislation for tabling in Parliament, and eventual enactment.