Those who have stolen from the public remain free

Kenya can legally have two centres of power. With the appropriate legal checks and balances, the draft constitution should be able to synchronise the respective powers and duties of a president and a prime minister. What Kenya cannot afford are two centres of corruption. An executive president and prime minister create two rewarding centres.

In Africa, power is tribal and has a symbiotic relationship with corruption. Imagine the twin furious tribal feasting that will occur if these two offices are constitutionally established? During the last two weeks, I was appalled by the loud cries and crocodile tears of Kenyans concerning the Sh9 billion missing in the ministry of Education.

Politicians, the media and anyone who is anybody is crying for the blood of Education minister Professor Sam Ongeri and his permanent secretary. The President, despite pleas that he sacks the pair, has kept mum. Kenyans, unfortunately, are too naïve and never learn anything from history.

Why are we singling out these officials in the ministry of Education? Does the President and the Prime Minister have any moral legitimacy or track record in the fight against corruption? Isn’t corruption normal public life in Kenya? Haven’t all rich politicians and civil servants stolen from the coffers of the state? Don’t incidents of corruption occur with both alarming frequency and mind-boggling magnitude? Isn’t corruption among our politicians and civil servants part of their job description?

In case Kenyans forgot, we lost hundreds of billions through the infamous Anglo Leasing companies. We blew hot and cold. Not a person has been convicted. Before that, the President appointed a commission of inquiry to investigate the Goldenberg scam. In the light of the events that came to light as to the holders of title deeds in the Mau, Kenyans were deliberately hoodwinked to believe that anything will come of that commission.

The Commission was designed as a cover-up and has masterfully delivered beyond the expectation of its architects. Then we had the Grand Regency scandal. We huffed and puffed. Those in power made cruel jokes about the cries of Kenyans. The President appointed a commission of inquiry. The report was shelved within minutes of receipt.

Then there were the maize scams. According to a report authored by the World Bank, Kenya lost Sh23.4 billion. The report states that the maize scandal cost the country dearly in both its economic growth and recovery. More importantly, poor or low income earners had to pay double what their counterparts in Uganda and Tanzania paid. Not a single soul was arrested, prosecuted or jailed.

The rot in the system is best exemplified by the raging debate on the Mau. Kenyans are in general agreement that the Mau Forest should be reclaimed. They are also in agreement that the exercise of removing people from the forest should be humane and orderly. What is sickening is the raging debate on the level of compensation that should be paid to large farm owners in the Mau. These people are the crème de crème of the Moi regime. They include people in the executive, provincial administration and a judge.

The fallacious argument that underpins the push for payments estimated at Sh2 billion is that the government should compensate owners of property once it acquires their land. Ideally, it is a sound legal argument. But does acquiring part of the Indian Ocean or Mount Kenya, for instance, through a fraudulent title deed transform what is acquired into the realm of private property?

Kenyans must appreciate this compensation scheme for what it truly is -- another plot to steal from the public. How on earth can one justify payment to individuals who illegally allocated themselves a water catchment area? How can they have the temerity to make a claim for compensation?

Rightly outraged

I am not defending the heinous crimes committed by officials in the ministry of Education. I must confess that it is primeval for an adult to steal what was meant for infants and Kenyans are rightly outraged. I am merely putting in perspective that despite our collective rage and revolt, nothing will happen to the culprits. Those who previously took much more are amongst us, free and well respected.

Since the creation of the government between PNU and ODM, corruption due to the creation of two centres of power has gone over the roof. When a member of one group is caught with his hand in the till, the other keeps quiet, as similar silence was maintained previously for their benefit. Kenya’s economic growth can only sustain one such centre. We cannot afford a constitutional basis for two such centres.

Ahmednasir Abdullahi is a former chairman of the Law Society of Kenya. ahmednasir@ahmedabdi.com