When fighting graft is like washing a pig

Former Anglican Archbishop Eliud Wabukala (left) is sworn in as Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission chairman at the Supreme Court in Nairobi on January 23, 2017. With him is Ann Amadi, the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Kenyans not in the system can lead a successful war on graft.
  • They have been “washing” the leaders through elections every now and then but soon after, the same people are stealing their land, embezzling development funds and engaging in all manner of corruption.
  • The pen is dirty and it is only by coming to terms with this truth that Kenyans will get tired of cleaning the pigs and resolve to clean the pen once and for all.

In a cartoon that appeared in the Nation on March 14, the cartoonist depicted Wanjiku (ordinary Kenyan) wishing that the government, and particularly President Uhuru Kenyatta, could be a zealot in fighting corruption.

Sadly though, Wanjiku’s reveries will remain just that: far-fetched dreams. This is because President Kenyatta and his Jubilee ensemble will not fight corruption, neither will Nasa’s Raila Odinga, Musalia Mudavadi, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetang’ula. Not even the self-declared saviour of Kenya from tribalism and runaway corruption, Dr Ekuru Aukot.

Also quite saddening is that even the grand old preacher, the Most Rev Eliud Wabukala, the recently crowned head of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, with all his good intentions, appears to have failed in this battle even before he imagined that he could command the war on corruption. I am not pessimistic about efforts to emancipate our country from the grip of corruption. May I say, though cautiously, that the President and opposition leaders may have the urge to stop the vice, but the best they can do is akin to pounding water in a gourd. The problem with corruption is not with individual leaders or, civil servants. The problem is with the systems.

Since time immemorial, pigs have been considered some of the dirtiest animals in the world, and cleaning them is a wasted effort. But the problem is not the pigs, rather it’s the dirty pigsty. If the pen is clean, the pig will remain clean. Similarly, the individuals swimming in the murky waters of corruption in our country could have been as white as snow if the systems were clean. It is our systems that are dirty and as such, whoever jumps in finds himself dirty. Even if you had good intentions to clean up the mess, you end up mired in it to an extent that you dare not raise your head to speak against corruption, and even if you do, you are just trying to save face. No wonder many of the erstwhile clean people picked to lead the fight against corruption have been ejected soon after, under the dark clouds of the very same corruption.

CLEAN SHED

When a farmer discovers that it is the pigpen that is dirty and no matter how many times he washes his pigs they will remain dirty, the right thing to do is to first clean the shed, and then give his pigs a nice bath. With this, he will be a happy farmer that his pigs are clean and he does not have to always complain how dirty they are even after washing them.

In Kenya, we will continue allocating billions to fight corruption, do all manner of campaigns and waste a lot of time and energy in the name of fighting corruption. But victory will remain a mirage because we are fighting shadows if the system remains soiled. Our systems are no respecter of persons. The moment you are in, you receive the mark akin to the baboon butt. You dare not accuse your peers because your also have the mark of corruption, either you received by scheme or you are a victim of circumstances. That is why corruption suspects are taken to court with a lot of hype and soon after the zest fades away.

NOT LOST

Rarely do we see corruption suspects being tried and convicted because many of those cannot dare lift a finger against their accomplices.

But the fight is not lost. Kenyans not in the system can lead a successful war on graft. They have been “washing” the leaders through elections every now and then but soon after, the same people are stealing their land, embezzling development funds and engaging in all manner of corruption. The pen is dirty and it is only by coming to terms with this truth that Kenyans will get tired of cleaning the pigs, and resolve to clean the pen once and for all.

Peter Ngare is editorial administration manager, Nation Media Group.