Chumo isn’t worse off from vetting drama

What you need to know:

  • In Kenya, when one door closes for a tainted public figure, another one tends to open to an even bigger office somewhere.

  • Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto won elections for the highest offices in the land in 2013 with crimes against humanity charges hanging over their heads.
  • The vetting unwittingly provided Dr Chumo with an opportunity to talk about some of the things Kenyan voters love to hear, including some money to burn and a persecution complex to boot.

The decision last week by former Kenya Power boss Ben Chumo to show up in Parliament for vetting even after being charged in court for fraud was something of a puzzle to many Kenyans.

Did Dr Chumo fancy his chances of getting approval by National Assembly Committee on Finance to chair the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) amid the public fury over his controversial nomination and invitation for parliamentary vetting had sparked in the first place?

Had he received any assurances from members of the committee or some powerful political patron that his appearance was a formality and that he would be given the job anyway?

Leader of Majority Aden Duale appeared to suggest that the vetting had all been in vain when he came out to comment about it before the committee could table its report in the House.

INTEGRITY QUESTIONS

In the end, the committee denied the former Kenya Power CEO the SRC job, citing the very same integrity questions that had been raised in the court of public opinion.

But even these don’t explain Dr Chumo’s audacity to have woken up that morning and carried his briefcase to Parliament Buildings for vetting.

Suffice it to say the reasons for Dr Chumo’s appearance are best known to Dr Chumo.

What is not in doubt is that he didn’t emerge any much worse off in terms of credentials for public office from the little drama in Parliament.

In Kenya, when one door closes for a tainted public figure, another one tends to open to an even bigger office somewhere.

PERFECT AUDITION

The story of Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto campaigning and winning elections for the highest offices in the land in 2013, while having crimes against humanity charges hanging over their heads at the International Criminal Court, is now a cliché.

Ironically, dozens of people sitting in the same Parliament that vetted and rejected Dr Chumo’s nomination are having cases of their own in court or used their controversial past as a stepping stone to political leadership.

In the grand scheme of things, Dr Chumo’s controversial parliamentary vetting might have actually served as the perfect audition for a future political career.

CAREER CHANGE

It unwittingly provided him with an opportunity to hog free airtime on live national television talking about some of the things ordinary Kenyan voters love to hear, including some money to burn and a persecution complex to boot.

If he were to opt for a career change, it is not far-fetched to imagine Dr Chumo five years from now occupying a seat on the other side of a parliamentary committee hearing to vet someone else for a similar public job.

Of course, the public job could be that of the next Director of Public Prosecutions, Directorate of Criminal Investigations chief, chairman of the Ethics and anti-Corruption Commission or Auditor-General.

In Kenya, nothing should puzzle anyone about public life drama.

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