Four more Raila ministers targeted

Political parties are turning the war against corruption into a bargaining chip in the power games ahead of the 2012 General Election.

Both sides have set up secretariats that are actively mining for information on their rivals that would cast them as a corrupt, a development that could further divide the coalition and which is seen as posing a grave threat to the reform process.

Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, a deputy ODM leader, has been in the news in the past week after the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission (KACC) linked him to the irregular purchase of land for a city council cemetery.

The Sunday Nation has learnt the ODM is plotting to fight back against their PNU colleagues with the integrity of KACC expected to be the first battleground.

A question asked in Parliament by Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo, an ally of Prime Minister Raila Odinga, was the first salvo in this campaign, according to informed sources. The MP sought to know the circumstances under which KACC acquired land in Karen amid suspicion that the process might have been irregular.

In recent weeks, PNU appears to have had the upper hand in the leaking game designed to paint their rivals as corrupt.

The Sunday Nation has learnt that teams of “researchers” have fanned out into a number of ODM ministries in hopes they will unearth evidence of corruption.

Among the targets are the ministries of Water headed by Charity Ngilu, Otieno Kajwang’s Immigration, Anyang Nyong’o (Medical Services), James Orengo (Lands) and Henry Kosgey (Industrialisation).

It is also understood that an international investigation has been launched to to identify the directors of a firm that was awarded a tender to import subsidised maize, which led to the suspension of the PM’s aide, Caroli Omondi.

These fights are seen as the biggest threat to the successful implementation of key reforms that were designed to avoid a return to violence.

Political scientist Frank Matanga says the calculations of players on both sides of the coalition revolve around plotting for the next General Election, with issues such as corruption and the reform process being used to advance their strategic goals.

But the constitution review could suffer in the confusion, according to insiders in government. This week, ODM MPs scuttled a planned retreat aimed at building consensus on the review, a development that could harden positions on both sides.

It is a sign of the depth of the divisions in government that the Cabinet has not met for four straight weeks. Western diplomatic sources told the Sunday Nation there are serious concerns that the apparent stalemate may derail the reform process.

They said the consequences of the collapse of the review process or the fall of the coalition would be international isolation for the nation.

Insiders say relations in government have been particularly frosty since the PM suspended ministers William Ruto and Prof Sam Ongeri over suspected involvement in corruption, a decision that was reversed by President Kibaki within hours.

“It seems the hardliners are back,” said an aide of the PM. He was referring to those in the President’s inner circle who have all along been either uneasy or outright opposed to the grand coalition arrangement and who appear buoyed by the rebellion Mr Odinga faces in ODM.

One factor complicating the intensifying friction in government is the fact that both PNU and ODM have fragmented into warring factions that have a regional character and competing agenda. This means the regional groupings are negotiating with each other to decide what position to take on corruption and the constitution.

Mr Mudavadi, the latest to be associated with a corruption scandal, is battling to clear his name over his alleged involvement in the Sh283 million cemetery deal. Mr Mudavadi has protested his innocence although investigations are ongoing.

The other deputy prime minister Uhuru Kenyatta fought hard last year to exonerate himself from the Sh10.8 billion “typing error” in the budget. Mr Kenyatta’s detractors had wanted to move in for the kill, but he managed to shake them off after the errors were corrected after a fortnight of political battle.

Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka also had his day after he was put to task over deaths of prisoners at Kamiti Prison and the matter was lent a political tone. The Prisons Service falls under his Home Affairs ministerial docket.

Agriculture minister William Ruto, who has cases in court, survived a censure motion over the maize scandal. Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi was on receiving end in Parliament over the Triton oil scandal.

PNU chairman Prof George Saitoti, who is also the Internal Security minister, has also been on the receiving end over an arms cache found in Narok.

At least 15 ministers have been linked to irregularities in their dockets.

“Just like an army, the parties are not going to battle blindly. They know who to hit. They are targeting the general and those with higher ambitions using their cronies,” Nairobi lawyer John Waiganjo said.

According to Prof Matanga, it is good to expose corruption, but some people are using it to fight certain interest groups or individuals.

“This is because politics in Africa and Kenya is not based on ideology. People try to use whatever is in the market to try and champion their political interests. They are hanging on to anything. Besides, everybody wants to be the blue-eyed boy of Western donor countries,” Prof Matanga said. He said the “dirty” politics is going to become more intensified as 2012 nears.

Last Thursday, ODM accused PNU of working with the National Security Intelligence Service to launch a smear campaign against its leaders.

Secretary-General Anyang Nyong’o said the party had protested to the grand coalition management team over what it termed “selected targeting” of its key members in corruption scandals.

The party also accused KACC of being used by some leaders to fight political battles and demanded formation of a bipartisan commission to investigate their conduct.

Speaking in the wake of the proposed cemetery land scandal, Prof Nyong’o said: “It is an issue that the management committee has to deal with. We cannot continue having a government by ambush,” he said at the Orange House on Saturday.

He questioned the practice of leaking government documents to the media that were only targeting ODM members.

“The strategic leakage of government documents affects both parties in the grand coalition. All this leakage would not matter so much to us if it were not for what we see as the goal to be,” he said.

PNU has dismissed ODM accusations, with vice-chairman George Nyamweya saying the party had no reason to launch a smear campaign against its coalition partner.

Prof Matanga said the grand coalition has failed in the fight against corruption, and corruption is now fighting back.

KACC raised eyebrows when it wrote to the PM and President’s offices over the cemetery scandal instead of asking the Attorney-General to prosecute the culprits.

Mr Waiganjo said: “Some are doing politics while pretending to be fighting corruption.”

The lawyer added that some politicians are using tribal arithmetic and marshalling their supporters to justify their positions when caught in scandals.

According to political analysts, President Kibaki reversed the suspension of Mr Ruto and Prof Ongeri by the Prime Minister to stamp his authority and consolidate his support.

Parliamentary committees have also been tainted by politics, and Mr Waiganjo says it is hard to get genuine report from them.

“The thing now is ‘scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”’

Narc-Kenya deputy head of international relations Kipkorir Menjo said some tainted politicians wanted to malign others to appear as equal in eyes of public. He said some top civil servants implicated in corruption are being protected “for political reasons”.

He accused some MPs of forming tribal alliances at a time when the country is struggling to recover from post-election chaos.

“Instead of bringing people together they have formed tribal alliances like the Kikuyu, Kamba and Kalenjin – one whose initials KKK could be translated as Kula Kila Kitu (eat everything),” the former Eldoret councillor said.

A member of the Western Council of Elders, who is also a former provincial police officer, Lucas Watta accused KACC of taking sides in the war against corruption.

“It is wrong for KACC to fail to follow its own procedures and release damaging reports about certain leaders before concluding investigations and having tangible evidence,” Mr Watta said.

The elder said Kenyans had lost confidence in the corruption watchdog for getting entangled in political wars.