New convert William Ruto needs to show more than anti-graft talk

You know that the fight against corruption is close to a lost cause when William Ruto, the deputy President, is the one appearing to lead it on the government side.

Mr Ruto has in the past week uncharacteristically stepped up his anti-graft rhetoric, even putting Parliament, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the Director of Public Prosecutions’ office and other institutions on notice.

But the deputy President’s public performance will inspire little confidence among many Kenyans familiar with his rather thin CV on fighting corruption.

Indeed the number of times Mr Ruto’s name has featured in court cases and parliamentary inquiries suggest that he has probably spent more of his time in public life on the firing line than in the front line of the anti-corruption campaign.

The ‘Hustler’s Jet’ scam in which his office was implicated in irregular travel expenditure has resurfaced in the ongoing parliamentary investigations into the affairs of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), with some MPs questioning the length of time it has taken House authorities to present the report for debate.

There is also the IDP land grab saga in which the deputy President agreed to return the 100 acres in Uasin Gishu he had been accused of dispossessing one Adrian Muteshi but challenged a court order requiring him to pay a Sh5 million compensation for illegal occupation as well.

And in 2011, Mr Ruto was acquitted of fraud charges related to the alleged sale of forest land to the Kenya Pipeline Company after the prosecution controversially failed to produce its star witness in court.

The case had led to his suspension from the grand coalition Cabinet in 2010.

This kind of record seriously dents Mr Ruto’s anti-graft credentials. But it can never be too late to join the anti-graft crusade or even take a lead role for whatever reason. 

EMPTY RHETORIC

The resurgence of the big corruption evil under the Jubilee government he co-pilots with President Uhuru Kenyatta and the danger it poses to their legacy means that the anti-graft crusade could do with some high-profile new converts.

Being a born-again Christian, the deputy President no doubt believes in the power of redemption.

But it will take much more than empty rhetoric for Mr Ruto to prove his doubters wrong.

Instead of barking orders over the fence at Parliament and other independent institutions — which are supposed to be independent under the Constitution — how about a crackdown to rid the Executive of the well-known Kibaki-era thieves whose continued stay in the Jubilee administration entrenches the public perception of sacred cows.

If still in doubt where to start, the deputy President could also have a look at the list of demands made by civil society groups on Friday, including cancellation of the controversial tenders that have defined the first two years of the Jubilee kleptocracy.

Otieno Otieno is chief sub-editor, Business Daily. [email protected]. @otienootieno