Crooks everywhere, but there are a few good men too

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world in Italy, the Sicilian part of the country has been nearly ungovernable for years because of the hold the Mafia has in the region.

If it hadn’t been for one, man, Giovanni Falcone, perhaps the Mafia would be the government in Sicily. Mr Falcone is a determined and fearless magistrate.

According to The Observer, he has signed an impressive 500 Mafia arrest warrants in the last four years, from the desk of his predecessor who was murdered by the Cosa Nostra.

Few people can live like Falcone. He escaped death after the Mafia blew up his office. Because they are trying to get him, even when Mr Falcone walks down the corridor to the coffee machine, he requires an armed escort.

But perhaps the best measure of Falcone’s guts is that in these recession-hit times when millions of people are losing their jobs and can’t find work, when recently an advertisement was put out for 55 magistrates in Sicily, only four people applied!

Which means that while Falcone might be winning his battles against the Mafia, unless more people join in the fight, this is a war he will ultimately lose.

For that reason, as Kenya argues and quarrels over whether the Judiciary is doing its job or not, there is Falcone. That is if one of these days, Chief Justice Evan Gicheru feels outnumbered by his political critics and calls it quits, and the government decides it needs an expatriate gun for the job.

cobbo@nation.co.ke