From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
THURSDAY, JULY 11, 2013
An Ipsos Synovate survey shows that the high cost of living is the most serious problem facing Kenyans under president Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto, with 49 percent of those interviewed saying they had less money in their pockets compared to three months ago due to worsening economic conditions with only 16 per cent reporting an upturn in their fortunes. The second most serious problem, the poll found, was unemployment and insecurity.
The reason why the high cost of living is the most serious problem in Kenya is because of lack of political good will to fight against corruption. The government of Uhuru and previous governments lack good will to fight against corruption because of culture of impunity.
According to the report released by Transparency International (TI) on Tuesday, Kenya is ranked number four in the Global Corruption Barometer. The top three countries are Sierra Leone, Liberia, Yemen then Kenya follows at number four.
While the top three countries have been torn apart by civil wars, Kenya is the only country in the top four that has not experienced civil strife, yet corruption is continually becoming the order of the day.
Kenyans interviewed nationally perceive the police, Parliament, Judiciary and political parties as most corrupt with scores of between 3.5 and 4.8. While the perception of corruption in the police service has remained the same even after the so-called police reform exercises, the judiciary remains “unchanged” from previous studies.
This is despite the fact that the Judiciary under Chief Justice Willy Mutunga has put in place efforts to combat graft by issuing annual accountability reports, opening up channels of communication and increasing pay for judges.
Judges have been accused mainly on delayed verdicts because of bribery. Other accusations include judges’ threats that if you don’t deliver certain judgment on favor of particular party or an individual you can either loose your job or your head is cut off.
Chief Justice Dr Willy Mutunga was warned that should he judge the case against Uhuru Kenyatta his head would be cut my Mungiki vigilantes. Shortly Mutunga claimed his life was in danger, the man behind the threats was arrested but Kenyans have not been told what happened after the arrest.
Victor Owuor, a resident of Kibera was arrested at a cyber cafe in the sprawling slum and locked up at Kilimani Police Station where he was interrogated for the whole day just for formality.
Since Owuor was an ardent supporter of Raila Odinga, the arrest was to divert Kenyans attention that the threats were staged by CORD to tint Jubilee’s reputation and fame. Police alleged that Owuor was found at a cybercafé in Kibera making copies of the letter to appear as if it was done by Mungiki.
The letter warned the CJ and members of the judiciary of “dire consequences” if they delivered an adversarial judgment in a case questioning the eligibility of Uhuru and Ruto. Finally Mutunga had t deliver the case in favour of Uhuru and Ruto.
Civil Society groups had also filed a case challenging the eligibility of Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto to run for office saying the International Criminal Court (ICC) had indicted them for serious crimes against humanity.
Dr Mutunga said he had received a “poison-pen letter” from the Mungiki Veterans Groups/Kenya Sovereignty Defence Squad making all manner of threats against judges, ambassadors and himself.
Mutunga had earlier complained that he was stopped by an immigration officer from travelling to Tanzania who insisted that he could not travel unless he is cleared by Mr Francis Kimemia, the man who is also behind the Raila’s refusal to enter the VIP launch at the airport.
It explains clearly that the case presented by lawyer Kethi Kilonzo to overturn a decision by the electoral body’s tribunal to nullify her nomination for the Makueni senate by-election is not only a waste of time but also a laughing matter.
With corruption and impunity in judiciary the judge has to deliver judgment in favour of TNA and Jubilee in general. Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission must also deliver judgement in favour of TNA or else they loose their jobs.
While it is quite true that the IEBC is an interested party and should therefore not have sat in judgment on itself, so does the judiciary. Kethi charges that the tribunal is part and parcel of the IEBC and sat as a judge over the commission’s collective actions, mistakes and failures directly linked to the complaints to be determined.
The problem with Kethi began when Lands Cabinet secretary Charity Ngilu’s Narc party was in favour of former Kibwezi MP Philip Kaloki who has been declared for the race by IEBC despite that he did not qualify as per party regulations.
Ngilu tipped off TNA that there was a problem with Kethi’s registration and therefore not legible to vie for Makueni seat. This is despite that IEBC who ruled in favour of Ngilu and TNA was the very one that cleared Kethi.
The big question here is, how did Ngilu and her Narc party know that Kethi is not registered when her party is not the IEBC? Why did IEBC clear Kethi and only to withdraw her name after Ngilu and TNA had complained? Why was Kaloki cleared by the same IEBC when he crossed to Jubilee just recently when the time of doing so according to the party regulations had expired?
It is due to the culture of impunity in Kenya that even though Article 260 of the constitution prohibits public officers including Cabinet Secretaries from actively participating in politics, Ngilu is still active.
Section two of the Leadership and Integrity Act 2012 and section two of the elections act also bar public officers from participating in politics. When President Kenyatta nominated Ngilu as his Lands secretary on April 25th, he said that both Ngilu and Mining Secretary Najib Balala had given a commitment not participate in active party politics.
Ngilu also indicated that she intended to resign from Narc, the party she chaired. However several opposition MPs are now concerned that she might have breached that commitment by becoming involved in the upcoming Makueni by-election.
Ngilu’s support to Kaloki comes after her effort to support late Mutula Kilonzo’s second wife, Nduku Kilonzo, to contest the Makueni senator seat for Narc and Jubilee against her stepdaughter Kethi who has been nominated by Wiper to succeed her father was fruitless.
Yet still, impunity is there to stay. For example, how Uhuru who is himself is mentioned in the TJRC report apologies publicly and unconditionally for injustices and gross violations of human rights committed since independence to February 28, 2008?
How can Uhuru allow former President Daniel arap Moi(1978-2002), Uhuru’s mentor, and former president Mwai Kibaki(2002-2008), Uhuru’s benefactor, who have also been cited as perpetrators of these injustices against the Kenyan people be prosecuted?
Leave alone asking him to apologise for the sins of his father which will definitely place an extraordinarily heavy burden on him- Uhuru already has his own cross to carry at The Hague over 2008 post-election violence, with charges of crimes against humanity.
How can he be brave to ask Moi who was exposed by Kroll in a secret report that laid bare a web of shell companies, secret trusts and frontmen that his entourage used to funnel hundreds of millions of pounds into nearly 30 countries including Britain to return back the stolen Kenyans ’properties or prosecute him?
The 110-page report by the international risk consultancy Kroll, seen by the Guardian, alleges that relatives and associates of Mr Moi siphoned off more than £1bn of government money, the money which is enough to pay teachers and doctors with some balance remaining.
It is due to impunity, why in 2005 the former Vice-President Moody Awori got it wrong when he claimed that British High Commissioner Edward Clay was not right when he said that there were 20 new corruption scandals, some of which were more scandalous than the Anglo Leasing, arguing that foreigners should not teach Kenyans how to fight graft.
Clay had said that grand corruption and new corruption in Government revolve mainly around security procurement and are centred in the Office of the President. He lamented that the Government did not appear to have the will to take on graft and called on President Kibaki to emulate the Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila who suspended six ministers and the boards of 10 parastatals following accusations of embezzlement leveled against them in a parliamentary report.
Corruption in Government had cost Kenyans some Sh15 billion as taxpayers. Clay’s dossier implicated at least four Cabinet ministers and centred on the way government departments had paid for goods and services. Some of the deals dated back to the Moi regime.
Other than the Sh7 billion contracts signed with Anglo Leasing Finance Company for the aborted passport and forensic laboratories deals, Sir Edward disclosed that some of the questionable payments that should be investigated included the payment of more than Sh300 million to a company called Silverson-Forensic.
Doubts had also remained in the mind of the public after allegations surfaced regarding the misappropriation of 19 million Sh (over US $257,000) in the run-up to World AIDS Day in 2001.
Against the background that the looters of our economy, the grabbers of our land, the traffickers of drugs, the killers of our babies and the youth, the ethnic demagogues, perpetrators of hate, political violence and violations of humans rights, the electoral thieves, the masters of deceit, and the lords of impunity are to continue with their business as usual.
Our generation and next one will not deal with them firmly, decisively and conclusively. It is only the future generation which is expected in about 50 years to come when our generations would have died long time ago. In other words, we will not see this happen.
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
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Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002