In Summary
While Kenya is taking the war on corruption a new level with the
arrest and arraigning in court of senior government officials, experts
say the conviction of suspects is what will determine its success.
“It
is a good thing we are seeing people being arrested and arraigned in
court. However, only jail terms and recovery of assets will change
peoples’ perception that the government is not committed to the fight
against corruption," said Samuel Kimeu, the chief executive of
Transparency International’s Kenya chapter.
Last week
alone, Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu and Agriculture Principal
Secretary Richard Lesiyampe were arrested and charged in court, as
President Uhuru Kenyatta declared his wish to leave a legacy of fighting
corruption.
Justice Mwilu was charged with abuse of
office, tax evasion, accepting a gift, that undermined her integrity,
obtaining execution of a security belonging to Imperial Bank and
conducting herself in disregard of the law. She has obtained a court
order to temporarily stop the case.
Mr Lesiyampe and
top National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) managers were charged with
the irregular purchase of maize that resulted into the loss of $60
million.
Justice Mwilu's case has, however, taken on a
political dimension after the opposition Orange Democratic Movement
issued a statement terming it part of a political witch hunt.
Justice Mwilu, who was represented in court by 32 lawyers,
including four Senators, affiliated to the opposition umbrella body the
National Super Aliance (Nasa), has linked her case to President Uhuru
Kenyatta's threat to "fix" the judiciary following the nullification of
his election victory last year, and the subsequent order fresh polls to
be conducted.
ODM secretary-general, Edwin Sifuna, who issued the statement, told The EastAfrican that
the party was not defending Justice Mwilu but protecting the
independence and the integrity of the institution of the Judiciary.
Mr
Sifuna said that the party was concerned that a high-ranking judicial
officer has been arraigned in court by the same government agencies that
cleared her two years ago when she applied for the position.
“The
best procedure would have been dealing with Justice Mwilu within the
judiciary by referring her to the Judicial Service Commission first. But
currently, Justice Mwilu and the judiciary is one thing. The loser is
not Justice Mwilu but the judiciary that has been attacked,” said Mr
Sifuna.
In an interview with the BBC Hard Talk
programme in Washington, President Kenyatta said the government was
working behind the scenes to strengthen anti-corruption institutions
with development partners offering technical support and training.
“The
war started with the procurement officers and will go upwards up to my
office. My legacy is to fight corruption and instil transparency and
appropriate use of the country’s natural resources,” President Kenyatta
told Zainab Badawi in the BBC interview.
But Mr Kimeu
said that the war against corruption can only succeed if it is
sustained, is not politicised and if the government follows the rule of
law.
“The DPP has to act on the many auditor general
reports that are released every year detailing illegal expenditure and
millions of dollars that cannot be accounted for,” said Mr Kimeu.
Off the hook
Most
suspects who have been charged in court in the recent past have been
let off the hook due to lack of evidence, faulty charge sheets on
technicalities.
For example, in the National Youth
Service scandal of 2015, during which the government lost Ksh791 million
($7.9 million) in the dubious procurement and supply of goods and
services, only one suspect was found to have a case to answer out of the
24 who were charged in court.
In the maize scandal
case, Mr Lesiyambe was charged alongside NCPB managing director Newton
Terer and finance manager Cornel Kiprotich in a case that involved 16
suspects.
The Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin
Haji further charged senior principal administrative officer William
Osoro with abuse of office and stealing.
It is alleged
that between September 1, 2013 and April 25, Mr Osoro arbitrarily
directed the use of a fuel card for the purchase of fuel, lubricants and
pit stop services valued at Ksh7.9 million ($79,000).
The
hurdles in successful conviction of suspects, Mr Kimeu said, are also
linked to political interference and sabotage by various agencies
involved in the justice system, which have seen senior politicians and
government official cleared by the court.
“If you look
at the some of these heists you will note that the involved many
highly-placed individuals in our society. They offer protection to the
suspects and also compromise the system,” he said.
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