Was the lifestyle audit call merely playing to the public gallery?

It wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that  the President, while playing to the public gallery, ordered the lifestyle audit on senior civil service workers. That it was done impulsively rather than after serious consideration is manifest in the possible hurdles it could run into.

As a matter of fact, nothing besides this realisation has informed the hesitation we now see. The exercise was to be undertaken within one month. That month window has now elapsed, yet nothing tangible has been undertaken. In a country where litigation is part of the daily routine, those targeted must go back to work to continue fleecing the country in a way they have perfected over the years.

Looked at from a different  angle, the ‘who is who’ list in Kenya is the entire top echelon of the public service and politically well-connected individuals who walk in and out of government offices, either chasing lucrative tenders or demanding payment for services not rendered or partially rendered.

Obviously, the President, as well-intentioned as he might have been, came to the realisation that he was opening a can of worms and there was no way he could control what could follow. But having given the order, he could not retract it. Thus, the only less risky option would be to allow the time to lapse and quietly let the suspects get reinstated, even as those who have amassed billions of shillings in only six years sit back and relax. And that is what will happen. The excitement is already over.

Mr Onyonka is a resident of Nairobi