Why Uhuru corruption fight has been a struggle, Raila in UK address

President Uhuru Kenyatta (L) and ODM leader Raila Odinga during a past address. [File, Standard]

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party leader Raila Odinga has defended President Uhuru Kenyatta over his perceived challenge in fighting corruption.

Odinga says Kenyatta’s quest to rid the country of corrupt individuals, especially those in politics, has been met with opposition from Deputy President William Ruto and his allies.

The former prime minister described the said-influence by Ruto’s team on graft war as “sabotage from within”.

On October 18, 2016, President Kenyatta told an accountability summit at State House, Nairobi that he was committed to the fight against graft, but relevant authorities were failing him.

He had met senior representatives of the Judiciary, the DCI, police, among others.

In his words, he said: “mnataka nifanye nini, jameni (Honestly, what else do you want me to do to fight corruption besides what I have done?”

In a January 18, 2021 interview with Kikuyu radio stations, the president said Kenya was losing at least Sh2 billion to corruption annually.

“I don’t know who told people that Kenya loses between Sh2 billion to Sh4 billion to corruption every year. However, I’d say on daily basis, these [corrupt] people are actually stealing Sh2 billion,” he said in the January 2021 interview.

The topic on corruption featured prominently in Raila Odinga’s address at Chatham House in London on Wednesday, March 16.

A participant asked Raila Odinga why he says he will continue Jubilee’s agenda if elected president, yet the Kenyatta-led administration has been accused of tolerating graft.

“I have never said that we are going to inherit the negative things [from the Jubilee reign]. There are certain negative things that Uhuru, himself, has actually admitted [to],” Raila Odinga said.

“For example, [the president admitted] that the government loses close to Sh2 billion daily to corruption.”

Odinga claims Ruto sabotaged the Head of State’s efforts to combat graft.

“He (President Kenyatta) felt very much unable to deal with it. The [main] reason is because he is leading a divided government. He was being undermined from within his own government by his deputy, who is an opposition [leader] inside the government.

“Any fight against corruption is, therefore, politicised [by Ruto’s team]. If anyone is investigated by the investigating authorities, and is arrested or charged in court, there’s always this cry that: ‘so and so is being targeted because he is my supporter’. So, he (Uhuru) cannot really fight against corruption internally because of internal contradictions within Jubilee government itself.”

The former prime minister said Kenya is facing a debt and economic crisis because looters of public resources have not been dealt with decisively

Odinga says he and his deputy, should he win the August 9 election, will work closely to combat corruption.

“I am coming in there with clean hands, and people know me. Nobody would be indispensable in my government. If you want to carry a successful war against corruption, then you have to begin with your own immediate circle. If any member of your family is linked with graft, you must ensure that action is taken against him.

“I’ll give you an example of [Rwanda’s President Paul] Kagame, whose own brother was arrested and imprisoned. Kagame would go to visit his brother in prison, and he’d tell him: ‘sorry, this is where you belong’. When you take these kind of actions, people would know it’s not business as usual in the fight against graft,” said the ODM chief.

Odinga is on a five-day tour of the United Kingdom. He was accompanied to the UK by Governors Charity Ngilu (Kitui), Ali Joho (Mombasa), Suna East Member of Parliament Junet Mohamed, COTU Secretary-General Francis Atwoli, among others.