Run away corruption remains one of the most serious cancers of the public sector in Kenya and by extension, Africa. In Kenya, corruption has reached unprecedented levels, and if it continues unabated, then it risks being the fourth, if not the only arm of the government.
The mega corruption scandals of our time have siphoned off the public billions of money. Corrupt public servants continue to perpetuate the vice unabated. The latest scandal being the NYS scam in which the Cabinet Secretary for Devolution has been implicated.
Whilst the purge on graft and its manifestations must be intensified, it is appalling to see the war take a completely different dimension.
I will continue to maintain that the purge on graft should go on and bring those responsible to justice.
In a country where the corruption levels have almost plunged the economy into dire straits, there is every reason to hold those responsible accountable for their misconduct.
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Before the dust settles on Anne Waiguru, the Cabinet Secretary for Devolution and Planning, in view of the NYS saga, it is my preoccupation to shed some light on the whole issue.
I will say that corruption needs to be fought using the mightiest weaponry possible that this country can afford. And yes, the fury from the opposition is one of the ways in which corruption can be exposed and largely be deterred.
However, having said that, there is every wrong reason when in the attempt to deter the vice, there is a semblance of personal vendetta against the individual implicated.
The case of Ann Waiguru does not portray the fight against corruption but rather an opportunity to settle scores. Whilst corruption and its manifestations should be frowned upon, bringing private matters especially where women or female individuals are involved is retrogressive and undermines the sacrifices that women have made and endured for a very long time.
Digging up into the private lives of public servants and their sexual history is inappropriate and uncalled for in the fight against corruption. This is not the ultimate solution to the cancer that is corruption in the public service.
Women, just like their male counterparts make mistakes (or even bigger mistakes) for that matter. This calls for some kind of reproach and retribution. But this should not be on the basis of gender. Why call for the resignation of the female public servants like Ann Waiguru, when there is a dossier on unaccounted funds in the interior and coordination ministry?
Why vilify Ann Waiguru, in person and more so on the sidelines of her private life and not do the same, or rather call for the resignation of Joseph Nkaissery the CS Interior? Or even further, look at his private life and expose it to the public domain?
That is not my concern, it is a nonentity. The bottom-line here is let reason prevail in the fight against graft. All must put a moratorium on fighting graft basing on the gender that the perpetrator is. Let reason prevail on the purge against graft.
And for that matter, may be, just maybe, Ann Waiguru’s biggest mistake is that she is a woman.
