To eradicate graft, Judiciary must grow a strong backbone

A lot of compliments are being heaped at the doorstep of President Uhuru Kenyatta as well as Mr Noordin Haji, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for the recent inroads made towards eradicating corruption.

However, many would agree with me that sycophancy plays a big part in our politics and many serious arguments get lost in its cloud. It is easy to mistake sycophancy for patriotism and pay allegiance to a personality and not the country. They are, for all intents and purposes, different.

Patriotism is loosely defined as love for one’s country. Sycophancy, on the other hand, is behaviour towards someone important in order to gain advantage.

Going by the constant praise for leaders who are addicted to flattery, we seem to have many actors of sycophancy in our country but few patriots.

When the likes of Haji come out and hit the ground running with the aim of ridding the country of corruption, he is simply being patriotic. I would also imagine that he has a grasp of what his legal duty is to the country and is carrying it out by arresting suspects of economic crimes.

FIGHTING CORRUPTION

I am not taking any shine off the efforts being put in by President Kenyatta in offering guidance and support in fighting corruption.

Nonetheless, Kenyans ought to de-personalise the fight against corruption.

When we give accolades to an individual spearheading the fight — such as the President or Haji — we must take care not to be just sycophantic and not patriotic.

Sycophancy is fine when things are alright but when they nosedive we will end up blaming the wrong person or people.

Patriotism applies when those mandated to run institutions do so because they understand the legal framework of their work and do so without fear or favour. That is possible in a governance hierarchy that understands separation of powers. Which means every core governance pillar must be distinct and separated by their powers. That, in turn, means the institutions are brave enough to challenge anyone on corruption matters.

ALLEGED INTERFERENCE

The past anti-corruption bodies that failed to tackle corruption only failed because of alleged interference of their work by the other arms of government.

The heads of key institutions — be it the Presidency, Chief Justice or Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) — are just a vehicle for carrying through the tenets of the Constitution. In that, they ensure that rule of law is upheld at all times by respecting principle of separation of powers.

The criminal justice system and ethics and anti-corruption agencies are mandated to lead the way in fighting graft. Within that, the Judiciary plays the most crucial part in making sure that it remains above reproach when dealing with suspects of crime to avert doubt of influence from the other arms of government.

The onus to punish offenders lies with the Judiciary and not the President or Parliament. It is, therefore, the Judiciary’s prerogative to ensure that it stays firm and resolute when dealing with high-profile suspects of corruption. This is because there is all the possibility that a corruption suspect could be a top officer.

CONVICTED RETIRED PRESIDENTS

Some countries have charged and convicted serving and retired presidents and prime ministers for corruption. It is problematic to allow the lines between the Judiciary, the Executive and the Legislative to be blurred — which is what we do when occluded by sycophancy and tribal machinations.

Fighting corruption is not the role of personalities per se but that of institutions mandated to do so. The President can, and must, guide the nation and restore confidence in times of crises such as the one we face on corruption but should not have overriding influence on the work of the Judiciary.

There are sufficient laws to help all those working to eradicate the corruption menace. What is lacking is the gravitas and bravery required of them to deal with high-profile suspects. Until and unless officials in such institutions grow a strong backbone to stand up to ‘cartels’ and senior State officers implicated in corruption, we will only be left rolling in the rut.

DELIVER ON ITS MANDATE

The current doubt expressed in whether there are genuine efforts to fight corruption will be expunged by the success of such institutions on conviction rates, led by the Judiciary.

The hope of millions of tax-paying Kenyans rests, in particular, on the shoulders of the Judiciary and not the Executive or Legislative and, therefore, the former must deliver on its mandate.

Kenya can, and should, ride this corruption crest successfully by keeping institutional powers separate. As the saying goes, “Where there is a will, there is a way.” We are on our way to success and must continue to show the will to fight corruption.

Ms Guyo is a legal researcher. [email protected].