We can still make a big impact on the campaign against corruption

Corruption, and the war against it, has for long dominated public debate in this country.

It became even more animated after the State House summit on governance and accountability.

It is a debate that should continue until this dinosaur that feeds on flesh and wines on blood is exterminated.

There have been varied voices and opinions on how the juggernaut that is public sleaze should be dealt with.

Fingers have been pointed at the highest office in the land, with many saying that President Uhuru Kenyatta has not done enough to rein in corrupt elements in the government.

The accusations are justified since he is the country’s chief executive. He should be the leader in both strategy and attack.

But as the President argued during the summit, whatever he does must be guided by the laws, both of the Constitution and natural justice, where the accused have the right to be taken through the judicial process to be adjudged and proven guilty “beyond reasonable doubt” before they are punished.

Therefore, his hands are tied by the law. However, he is not helpless in this war.

He has big enough room to manoeuvre and ensure that the dragon is immobilised, even slain.

The President pointed out that the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the State Law Office, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, and the Judiciary were frustrating him in the fight against graft.

The ineptitude in these offices has led the public to blame him for not doing much. Clearly, more needs to be done.

GREEDY INDIVIDUALS
All these agencies must start working together with the express objective of ensuring that the greedy and corrupt elements in government and the civil population do not continue bleeding the country.

One agency has started well. Established just about a year ago, the Asset Recovery Agency can make a useful contribution to stopping economic criminals.

It has been reported that the agency has recovered Sh743 million in assets and cash suspected to have been looted by corrupt individuals through phoney companies.

Considering that it has been in existence for only 11 months and has yet to put in place comprehensive structures, this is no mean feat and an encouraging start.

People suspected of stealing public funds should not be allowed to spend them.

Yes, the presumption of the law that everyone is innocent until proven guilty is a good principle.

In fact, the rights of the individual should be protected at all just costs.

But even as we pursue the law and endure the long judicial process, we must do everything possible to protect stolen public resources.

Cases take long to conclude and by that time there may be nothing to recover.

That is why the Asset Recovery Agency is keen to identify and preserve such assets.

The past few days have not been good for those genuinely interested in fighting corruption.

A heist of elephantine proportions was reported in the Ministry of Health, where more than Sh5 billion is suspected to have been stolen.

EFFICIENCY

It appears the money trail is still hot. Understandably, promises that investigations were under way and that the culprits would be made to pay were met with scepticism; such promises have been made before, but no major corruption lord has ever been jailed, as the President rightly pointed out

Perhaps the best place to start would be to identify where the money is and stop it from further circulation and appropriation.

That is where the Asset Recovery Agency comes in.

It needs to move in fast, get all the money that can be traced, and get it to a safe place where it can be monitored to ensure that it is not accessible to the looters.

The money should be preserved until investigations, prosecutions, and convictions are completed then transferred to where it was initially meant to go.

For the agency to be effective, it needs to be properly equipped to carry out its mandate.

Mr Mugwang’a is a communications consultant based in Nairobi. [email protected]. @mykeysoul