We will fight and win war on graft: Uhuru

President Uhuru Kenyatta addresses the nation during the 52nd Jamhuri Day celebrations on Saturday, December 12, 2015 at the Nyayo National Stadium. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • President Kenyatta announced that Swiss authorities had helped freeze Sh200 million held abroad in connection with the Anglo-Leasing fraud.

  • The event was graced by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and The Aga Khan, Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network.

  • Renewed fight against corruption stems from concerns raised by the intelligence service which urged the president to take action to secure a second term and cement his legacy.

President Uhuru Kenyatta restated his firm commitment to step up the war against corruption in his Jamhuri Day address Saturday while outlining major milestones the government has achieved in an effort to recover stolen public money.

In a 40-minute address, the President announced that his efforts against corruption had begun paying dividends, somewhat seeking to reassure the country that he was in charge — and illustrating commitment to harness all arms of government to put paid to the vice that he has named a national security issue.

“Sh2.24 billion of corruptly-acquired money and property have either been frozen or recovered. We are working with other friendly governments to ensure that illegally acquired assets hidden in their countries are returned,” he said.

SH200M IN SWISS ACCOUNTS

He announced that Swiss authorities had helped freeze Sh200 million held abroad in connection with the Anglo-Leasing fraud.

The President said he had gazetted preservation orders prohibiting the transfer of property purchased with funds embezzled from the National Youth Service, a department that has been in the eye of the storm over corruption, with Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru, who was overseeing its affairs, losing her job.

From reports of loss of funds at the ministry to inconsistencies that have characterised the deployment of the much hyped Eurobond where Sh250 billion was raised in the Irish Stock Exchange, the government has been fighting from a point of weakness and such news coming from the Head of State is a welcome change.

The President was giving the report card before thousands of Kenyans at the Nyayo National Stadium as the country marked the 52nd Jamhuri Day.

The event was graced by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and The Aga Khan, Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network.

Deputy President William Ruto set the tone, saying corrupt civil servants will not be tolerated.

“I want to make it clear that we will take firm and decisive action against such people. There is no big or small or the opposition in the fight against graft,” he said.

Keen to assuage the public outcry over corruption, President Kenyatta said he was acting in response to the hue and cry of wananchi on runaway graft in his government.

“Corruption is our great enemy: we need to fight it with the same tenacity and unity of purpose with which we have fought, and won, other battles. Corruption is corrosive: A bribe is given to let a faulty public service vehicle go through a roadblock; later the vehicle crashes and kills innocent Kenyans. Terrorists offer bribes hoping to cross our borders. Corruption kills.”

SECURING SECOND TERM

The Sunday Nation has learnt that the renewed fight against corruption largely stems from concerns raised by the intelligence service which urged the President to take decisive action not only to secure a second term but also his legacy.

The President challenged the Judiciary to act decisively to conclude the cases before it to help win the war. 

“It is time now for the Judiciary to act decisively to conclude the cases before it, for our constitution requires that justice be served without undue procedural delay.” Chief Justice Willy Mutunga has set up a special court to deal with corruption cases.

Saturday, President Kenyatta said that at the start of this month, 337 cases relating to corruption were in court and of those, 68 involved senior Kenyans, among them Members of Parliament, governors, and Cabinet and principal secretaries.

ATTACK ON THE MEDIA

He took a swipe at the media, accusing journalists of running a campaign to malign his government.

He warned that henceforth, any unsubstantiated negative reporting on government will not be tolerated.

“We embrace and truly believe in media freedom. But lies for the sake of sensation and sales that hurt our economy, our cohesion, and our nation’s name must come to an end. If you make allegations, you must be prepared to prove them,” he warned.

Opposition leaders gave the fete a wide berth in what is part of the ongoing standoff with the government after officers from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission on Thursday barricaded the offices of Cord leader Raila Odinga in a bid for him to record a statement over the Eurobond controversy.  

ATTACK ON CORD LEADER

With regard to Mr Odinga’s anti-graft crusade, the DP, shy of naming him, said the Cord leader was peddling falsehoods and propaganda to undermine the Jubilee administration.

“Their aim is to undermine the government, the reckless lies at worst makes them economic saboteurs against our country,” he said, sentiments that would later be echoed by his boss.

The programme of Saturday's event was leaner compared with the previous ones.

Other than the Liberian President who was brief in her remarks, the President and his deputy, only Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero spoke.

President Sirleaf thanked Kenya for the country’s contribution during the tumultuous political period in Liberia as well as during the Ebola outbreak that ravaged her country.

Tens of Kenya’s health workers were deployed in Liberia to help deal with the epidemic.

SECURITY

On security, President Kenyatta announced that Garissa University College, which was closed in April after Al-Shabaab terrorists killed 148 people in cold blood, would soon re-open.

“We have modernised our forces, improved their mobility, and strengthened inter-agency co-ordination. Our allies in this struggle have rallied to our side.  Some of them have suffered similarly painful attacks,” he said.

The President sent condolences “to the people of France, Nigeria, and the United States for the brutal attack in California; and to the thousands in Mali, Syria and Iraq, who have endured extremist violence”.

President Kenyatta also delved at length into the government’s achievements in the last three years.

He said: “We have become healthier and are living longer. Life expectancy has risen from 48 years in 1963 to more than 60 in 2014. We are a better-informed, and far more empowered nation today than we were at independence. There are nearly 10 million children enrolled in primary school.”

KENYAN DIASPORA

On the economic front, Mr Kenyatta said three million Kenyans in the diaspora have sent home $1.4 billion, money that has educated Kenyans, started businesses, and provided healthcare.

“Between 1908, when the first power company in Kenya was established, and 2008, connection to electricity was only 20 per cent. It took a whole century to reach a fifth of our people. In the past three years, my administration has raised the connection rate from 28 per cent to above 50 per cent. I dare say it is one of the fastest increases in energy connection in the world,” he declared.

Other areas he cited include development in the infrastructure industry with roads and the standard gauge railway getting a mention.

“The standard gauge railway from Mombasa to Nairobi is now 60 per cent complete and we have begun the process of extending it to Naivasha, and eventually to Kisumu and Malaba,” he said.

He also referred to the two high-profile visits by US President Barack Obama in July and that of Pope Francis last month, two events that have crowned his presidency and once again thrust Kenya into the global map.

The World Trade Organisation conference which opens in Nairobi on Tuesday was further demonstration of Kenya’s growing status in Africa and the world, he noted.