Uhuru: I've resolved to lead in ridding Kenya of corruption'

As we celebrate the good that has been achieved over the decades since independence, we know there are areas which we have not done well. We must be truthful to ourselves and admit in that, in the past few decades, a few of us have failed their motherland.

Some of those trusted to run and manage institutions, resources and safeguard the public interest have turned predators. Through their selfishness, greed and misuse of authority, Kenyans have been denied critical public services and development.

Today, I want to address myself to these enemies, who must be boldly confronted by all Kenyans of goodwill in the same manner our forefathers resolved to join hands in the fight against colonialism.

Our forefathers resolve to destroy the yoke of colonialism is what gave birth to our beloved nation. I have resolved to lead this nation in getting rid of corruption and division, the main challenges we face today, just like colonialism was then.

I appeal to all Kenyans to join me in the war that we have started, to vanquish corruption.

While the challenge may look huge because of the way corruption has become entrenched in some of our people, today, we have to declare in unison that corruption in all its forms will be diminished from our country. Like colonialism was defeated, so will we defeat corruption.

We must, with a sense of great urgency, destroy and eliminate corruption in our country before it fully destroys us and the future of our children.  The war against corruption must be fought and won by all of us, particularly that which compromises public service. Almost the entire senior team in charge of investigations and prosecutions is new, they have been properly resourced, they know their mandate and mission, they know what Kenyans expect of them.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, the Police, and other institutions in the multi-agency team against corruption are on the move. They are making decisive steps to build strong cases for the prosecution of corrupt officials. 

Their work will bear fruit when the Judiciary responds by ensuring that the frivolous and obstructive use of the court system to avoid responsibility, will not be allowed. I welcome the assurance of the Judiciary’s leadership that they are with the rest of government, and all Kenyans, in this war for our integrity as a country.

I am glad that arrests of senior officials have been made. There are more on the way. I want officials, particularly senior ones, who are directly implicated in corruption to have no place in my administration and for them to go to jail. I will do my part as President to turn government into an instrument that truly serves you, and that respects the sacred responsibility to build Kenya into a truly prosperous, fair and honest country. You, as citizens, should take up this fight as a key responsibility of your citizenship.

We all know from reading the headlines daily that corruption has also seeped into many other sectors of our society. We must all seize the moment and play our individual role for our country to overcome this evil.

We know of teachers who impregnate students. Preachers who swindle their flocks. Lawyers who defraud clients. Architects building houses using shortcuts leading to collapse of such buildings.

Doctors giving false diagnoses to increase their fees. Pharmacies selling fake medicine. Unfortunately, these crooks have become heroes. Too often, some of the worst rogues are welcomed back home like conquering celebrities.

More honest

The truth is that we are facing a grave threat to our moral basis as a people, from government down to the family. From leaders to parents, from corporates to individual citizens, we have a role to fight for our honour so that our country can prosper. Your providing information will be key to us nailing the perpetrators of corruption; your resolve to withdraw respect and deny and honour to those guilty will be the most powerful blow to preventing this vice.

Let me mention, as part of the raft of measures we intend to implement to tackle corruption, as an initial step, all Heads of Procurement and Accounts in Government Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Parastatals will undergo fresh vetting, including polygraph testing, to determine their integrity and suitability. Those who shall fail the vetting will stand suspended. I expect this exercise be concluded before the start of the new financial year. You will hear of other tougher actions in the days to come.

Fellow Kenyans,

We must have a more honest country to protect our liberty and be able to use it to build a glittering African nation. For the sake of honesty, let’s agree that our unity is far from where it should be. Unity does not mean we agree on all things. But it is a requirement for our country to be able to have the stability that will enable us to invest in it without fear. 

Our founding fathers knew when they won Madaraka that there was no going back to the political structures that preceded colonialism. The world had changed too much, there were too many dangers to our freedom if we did not come together to forge a new nation.

The overwhelming majority of us live in peace and good neighbourliness with our fellow citizens. We reach out to one another in good and bad times, and our children play together and marry each other across communities.

Yet every five years, during our elections, destructive divisions emerge that threaten our stability. Some political leaders have made their careers dividing our people, not bringing them together.

This is the truth, and we need to deal with it as leaders and as citizens. Unity is like an engine for a nation that hopes to escape the destructive pull of poverty and civil conflict, and even civil war. There are many different moving parts, but they are all joined in driving forward the vehicle so that it can achieve escape velocity.

Many countries in our region provide terrifying evidence of what happens to peoples who are disunited.

Our habit of destructive political competition has certainly divided us, but there are other, subtler, forces.

It may be a longer wait to get a public service; it may be disrespect for our language and culture; or it may be that in the past, our region had less than its fair share of Kenya’s resources — all these have played their part in dividing us, and in delaying the dreams of our founders.

We have a clear choice. We should be bold enough and reject politics of division. We admit that we have made mistakes in the past but we have a great opportunity of transforming our society to forge forward guided by the past experiences and mistakes. We must focus on the future. Our founding fathers and mothers understood the dangers of sticking to the past...they sought to look to the future. They said they would forgive but not forget. This is the spirit that I am committed to.

As President and as a citizen, I seek understanding and reconciliation between all Kenyans. 

I know that our children, to whom we will bequeath this matter require us to take every step to ensure our nation has the unity that will save them from lives of poverty, hatred and failure. This Madaraka Day, and everyday henceforth, that is the profound choice before every one of us.

If, like me, you choose reconciliation and unity, prepare yourself: it is no easy task. It means listening respectfully to each other’s fears and grievances. It also means being cautious in case our genuine feeling of grievance is turned into fuel for conflict and even violence.

I am listening to all Kenyans; it is my most important duty as President and as a citizen. It is a duty that I am deeply committed to, and that inspired in me a desire to “Build Bridges”.

Every Kenyan can be part of this moment to build bridges. We can use our church and family groups, professional associations, savings and business groups, schools, and NGOs to build bridges.

Build trust

You do not need to be told what to do. You know where the problems close to you are; reach out to others and unite with them to provide as many interventions as you can. This is the way we will have a million handshakes to make a strong and united Kenya.

We must also be honest enough to admit that changes to laws or processes is only a part of the solution. The work we are called to do is to build trust and then change hearts and minds. We have many laws in Kenya, and a fine Constitution. It is not the letter that will get us to our destination, it is the spirit that we have when obeying the law. As we build trust in one another, we must ensure that our government helps us solve some of the most pressing problems we have. That is why I am fighting hard to implement the “Big Four” agenda. Its pillars seek to directly benefit the lives of citizens, particularly those who are having the toughest time. One pillar is growing manufacturing to 15 per cent of our economic output as a country. Another, which dovetails with the first, is to enable the private sector to build half a million affordable quality homes that have good sanitation and adhere to high building standards.

In pursuit of universal health care, we are extending health insurance to every household.

The fourth pillar is ensuring that every Kenyan has access to affordable and nutritious food. No country can call itself great, or even close to greatness, if any number of its citizens is threatened with malnutrition or even starvation.

Added to these pillars must be the most important pillar of them all: your productivity and investment as Kenyans.  Kenya is in the race with the world to be productive enough, and innovative enough, to produce better and cheaper goods than the rest. 

I urge every Kenyan in business today to take your growth and success as a key contribution to our country.  Building value, and paying salaries and taxes is building the nation. I urge you to redouble your efforts, and to invest in ambitious expansion. I urge workers and their trade unions to invest in growing the cake so that we can all have more to divide.

This is an abridged version of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Madaraka Day Speech to the country delivered at Kinoru Stadium, Meru County, yesterday.