Cemetery land: Mudavadi not about to ship out

Mr Musalia Mudavadi, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Government, is an affable and measured man compared to many of his erstwhile colleagues who are unmeritorious in many ways.

But now hounds that have smelt blood feel sanctimonious enough and want the son of mulembe on the chopping board. Con artistes, working in cahoots with his council and government officials, schemed off a princely sum right under his watch.

As expected, the minister has put up a vociferous defence and many, including Prime Minister Raila Odinga, have jumped to his defence. Simply put, Mudavadi is not about to go anywhere.

A man who wriggled himself out of the Goldenberg scam is not about to be hounded out of office in what has been dismissed as a carefully choreographed but poorly executed script.

It has become standard to read political mischief into every call for public accountability and Mudavadi’s predicament is no different.

Granted, it has helped obscure pertinent and valid questions over the management of public affairs by ministers and the ethos that guides and informs public service.

Mudavadi alibi is that of having been completely in the dark over the goings-on in his ministry. Such candid honesty is welcome but equally troubling. If such casual indifference defines the management of public affairs, we need divine intervention.

Probably because ministers have more profitable and exciting engagements outside their immediate call of duty, they grope in the dark over the goings-on in their ministries unless it is a question of feigning ignorance.

This is incompetence, dereliction of duty and an abdication of responsibility from which Mr Mudavadi, and Prof Sam Ongeri before him, have sought to distance themselves.

When a leopard breaks into the kraal, you do not apportion blame elsewhere but instead own up to your lack of vigilance and presence of mind. Then you make amends to avoid another break-in.

What the latest circus over the blame game in local government highlights is that there are serious fraudsters within the rank of government and ministers are not equal to the task.

Of course, nobody expects ministers to know everything partly because, few of them put any serious attention to their work and are largely ceremonial ornaments. Like in Mr Mudavadi’s case, it takes a tsunami to jolt them from slumber.

Because their underlings know this, they exploit their ignorance and scheme right under their noses to raid the granary in the growing litany of scandals that continue to raise serious questions on whether ministers and bureaucrats have found ingenious ways to cover their tracks or have simply lost control.

Granted that many politicians are elected into office through bribery of voters, Kenyans should drop any pretence of shock when public officials dip their hand into the pie.

While theft or pilferage of public funds is inexcusable, those who vote with their stomachs rather than conscience have no moral authority to demand accountability from wayward leaders. They live in glass houses and cannot throw stones.

As long as our leaders are products of a corrupt system, beginning with sham party nominations, it is dishonest and pretentious to expect them to espouse values of honesty and integrity in public office unless they stumble onto the Road to Damascus. Evil begets evil.

The same must be said of those who occupy high public office on account of nepotism and cronyism by politicians. They can never be short of reasons to abuse public trust and bend the rules to return such favours.

While there are many honest and most deserving public servants, there are equally many within the ranks who see it as an opportunity to abuse the system and partake of matunda ya uhuru. A system that does not reward honesty and commitment undermines ethics and moral probity in public service.

It is no surprise that politicians have been uncharacteristically silent. And just as well. With only a handful paying tax, they cannot assume the moral high ground to pontificate on stewardship of public resources. In failing to pay taxes, they are complicit in corruption and cannot cast the first stone.

You can bet that the current storm over Mr Mudavadi will fade soon. Like dry grass, Kenyans burn intensely with fury and die out just as fast. It bears reminding to remember that politicians are like bananas; none is hardly ever straight.

Gichinga Ndirangu is a lawyer and policy analyst