The missing ingredient in graft fight is political will

President Uhuru Kenyatta and First Lady Margaret Kenyatta wave to youths when they arrived for the youth meeting at the Safaricom Kasarani Stadium. In the reshuffle of Cabinet Secretaries, the President was ostensibly responding to the clamour from all corners demanding action against corruption in government. PHOTO | PSCU

What you need to know:

  • In that reshuffle, Cabinet Secretaries who had “stepped aside” or resigned were replaced and some of the remaining ones were moved to new dockets.
  • Many Kenyans have expressed optimism that these changes will reduce corruption and launch Kenya on a path of progress and sustainable development.

The biggest news in Kenya ahead of the visit by the pope was the Cabinet reshuffle announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday night.

In that reshuffle, Cabinet Secretaries who had “stepped aside” or resigned were replaced and some of the remaining ones were moved to new dockets.

The President was ostensibly responding to the clamour from all corners demanding action against corruption in government.

Earlier, he had announced a raft of proposals to minimise or eliminate corruption in the government, and he has subsequently continued the anti-corruption rhetoric every time he delivers a speech.

The proposals included nominating individuals to man the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC), suggesting new legislation to deal with corruption in the private sector, and creating a new office in the Presidency to manage and co-ordinate budgeting.

Many Kenyans have expressed optimism that these changes will reduce corruption and launch Kenya on a path of progress and sustainable development.

One would hope that this optimism is justified, and in order to determine whether this is the case, it is necessary to analyse the problem more broadly.

Firstly, we must accept that corruption permeates almost every nook and cranny of this republic.

From the traffic policeman who asks for an inducement to look the other way when we commit traffic offenses, to the Cabinet Secretary who demands kickbacks in order to award a tender for a government project, we have all been touched by corruption.

We must also reflect on the causes of corruption in government circles.

We may theorise about the inducements and drivers of corrupt practices, but in my view the greatest reason we engage in corrupt practices is the certainty that we can never be caught.

Even when we are caught with our hands in the cookie jar, we are almost certain to get away with no more than a mild slap on the wrist.

Whatever the other reasons may be, this impunity is the greatest driver of corruption in this country.

In Kenya, it is easier to succumb to corrupt influences than to resist.

FOSTERING CORRUPTION

Resistance is often frowned upon, and those that resist corruption are likely to be punished one way or the other.

Having understood the main driving force behind official corruption, the third matter we must consider is the anti-corruption environment.

There is a surfeit of commissions and committees created to fight corruption at all levels of government.

There are laws both in the criminal procedure code and in specific anti-corruption legislation that criminalise corrupt practices in public office.

There is even a proposal to create special anti-corruption courts in the Judiciary.

These institutions and laws have been in existence for a long time, yet corruption continues to thrive in this country.

What has been the missing link? The answer, following the analysis above, is obvious.

Enforcement. There seems to have been a degree of lethargy and absent political will to tackle corruption.

In my view, the President will have won half the battle if he stands ready to sacrifice even his closest allies should they be implicated in corruption.

Enforcement agencies must be confident that they have the support of the highest office in the land as they confront power barons behind most corrupt activities in this country.

Without political will, it remains business as usual.