Dishonest and corrupt leaders have run down our great country

Disorder cannot be permanent but it leaves permanent scars. Kenyans and their leaders have had to learn this the hard way.

From the mess in the transport sector, the unending land disputes, the mess in the education system, corruption and its effects on the limping agricultural sector, all because dishonesty is tolerated and fraud has become our political culture.

In a nutshell, hypocrisy, wheeler-dealing, bribery and a litany of other ills have become part and parcel of Kenyan politics. We see the problem, but keep quiet and grumble. We have no principles.

Stagnating development

Over time, different things have been blamed for the problems bedeviling Kenya. Stagnating development, poor leadership, senseless and vindictive partisanship, and lack of accountability on the part of the nation’s leaders are constantly fighting for the crown.

However, it is the hypocrisy of our leaders that has made our country to lose its lustre.

Shady deals involving millions of shillings between influential politicians and leading businessmen keen on clinching lucrative government contracts and other favours are a pervasive feature of Kenyan politics.

From the top, down to the lowest level of our politics, bribery and raw hypocrisy are part and parcel of the game. No wonder corruption has become our hallmark.

However, it is known that hypocrisy is less evidence of corruption than evidence of its absence. Perhaps that is what makes our parliamentary system function.

This, perhaps, explains why one of my friends, a parliamentarian, told me the other day that if you want to survive in Parliament, you must toss your copy of German modernist philosopher Immanuel Kant’s ‘Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals’ out of the window.

Great success

And although Kenya controls an enviable wealth of resources and many Kenyans individually have achieved great success on the world stage, the nation’s public institutions have remained in a moribund state.

Ask yourself why young Kenyan girls are becoming pregnant at such an alarming rate.

We certainly need to start from where we got lost as a nation. We must develop the right values because they will help us to grow and develop the future we want to experience.

It is unfortunate that most of the so-called politicians never appreciate being told the truth. But which politician is ready to listen to the truth?

We have plenty of examples of political leaders who talk incessantly about integrity and ethical values but engage in unethical conduct and in the end, encourage others to do so explicitly or implicitly.

Many of the political leaders we have are not the ‘‘walk the talk’’ type but the ‘‘do as I say, not as I do’’ type.

Political ‘heroes’

And with the Kenyan mentality of putting politicians on the pedestal and our tendency to lionise our political ‘heroes’, and demonise our political adversaries, we have lost it at as a country.

Unfortunately, this perception is also well-rooted. Kenyan politicians do indeed wield disproportionate power in this respect: They do interfere in matters of public issues.

Because of this, many Kenyans are either too aloof to demand accountability from their leaders or are intimidated into docility by vindictive politicians.

This has dissuaded many talented and qualified people from entering national politics because it’s “too dirty and murky”. The net result is a system that breeds hypocrisy, creates inequality and injustice, and debases a person’s dignity. It is undeniable that many people regard politicians as a means to an end, and politicians have not helped their cause as they are always amenable to electoral arm-twisting.

Hurting people

If you have any faith left in our political system as an authentic representation of voters’ beliefs, you might want to think harder. Our politics is about cheap and short-lived popularity.

Everything has been politicised which makes implementation of policies nearly impossible, hurting people’s lives.

Contempt for opponents and deference for allies, even if it means staying silent or even fighting for what you have once fought against ?— that’s how Kenyan politics works. And that’s the problem.

But what is certain is that no matter the cost, we have to deal with harmful hypocrisy in our political leadership if we are to move with conviction and values to prosperity.

Prof Mogambi, a development communication and social change expert, teaches at University of Nairobi hmogambi @ yahoo.co.uk