Corruption, impunity and mistrust make us hollow people

Chief Justice David Maraga addresses guests during the launch of Performance Management and Measurement Understanding (PMMU) report 2015/2016 at Supreme Court on June 8, 2017. He has said corruption is rife in the country. PHOTO | FRANCIS NDERITU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The perception of many of us is shaped by the negative inclinations of corruption, lies and disregard for anything that is orderly.
  • Many of us have no trust at all in that constitutional body that we all participated in putting in place.

The other day we had a function at the university where the guest of honour was our chief justice.

Since it was an event to do with the school of law, of which he and many others are former students, our auditorium was parked with honourable judges and lawyers of all categories.

As our chancellor said in jest, it was a good feeling interacting with learned friends that whole evening.

CORRUPTION
As he gave the keynote address, the honourable Chief Justice David Maraga came to a point where he warned all of us that he was about to say something that may offend some people. He smiled and paused a bit, then said: “We Kenyans are corrupt …”

You should have heard the silence. It was as if all those of us in that hall had got the full meaning of what he was saying.

I said to myself that, for a man who has practised law and worked in the judiciary all those years to say that, he must know what he is talking about.

NOMINATIONS
Anyway, he went on to talk about the level of impunity in this country and the tendency to disrespect the rule of law.

He gave the example of the just-concluded party nominations and asked us why we think they went so badly in most places.

Corruption, impunity and disrespect for the rule of law were the reasons.

A society that does not advocate what is true and just, whether individually or at community level, cannot be called a civilised society.

CHAOS
That should explain why there is so much noise and disagreements around the time of elections like there is now in Kenya.

It is the reason many of us cannot even trust the institutions that are established by the Constitution we fought so hard for.

The perception of many of us is shaped by the negative inclinations of corruption, lies and disregard for anything that is orderly.

The distrust for anyone else or any other institution is because many of us think that those others will do things the way we ourselves would.

IEBC
I thought about the ongoing case at the Court of Appeal regarding the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and whether the final announcement of the presidential vote will be at the tallying centre or in the constituencies.

I came to the conclusion that many of us have no trust at all in that constitutional body that we all participated in putting in place.

How long will it take us Kenyans to inculcate in our thinking values of truth, justice, fairness and respect for the rule of law?

Only then shall we be able to pride ourselves in being a civilised society.

Writer is Dean of Students at the University of Nairobi [email protected]