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were only good at stealing, tribalism as people from our tribes and
and grumbling.
who need, therefore, protection
by the tribe. It will not matter
A Few weeks earlier, the Chief
that the thief is a senior person
Justice Dr. Willy Mutunga had
in government, who wants us to
described the Kenyan economy
believe that that the government
as “a bandit economy.” This was
belongs to our tribe and that,
the cry of a frustrated head of the
therefore, our tribe must protect
Judiciary. For in a country such
our government by protecting him.
as ours even a non-compromised
For the government will be seen as
Judiciary cannot do much.
the government of all Kenyans, the
way it is supposed to be. This is the
If the investigative and
first step towards making public
prosecutorial processes are flawed,
finance count.
they will never deliver to the
Judiciary a case that can survive
Re-educate The Educated Class
on the weighing scales of justice.
We are in the end caught up in
There is need to re-educate the
the spider web of debilitating
educated professional class in
corruption.
Kenya. The educated intelligentsia
must begin learning to maintain
Turning The Tide, Making Public
a certain professional aristocratic
Finance Count
distance from the thieves in their
tribe. The intelligentsia is an
The situation need not remain this agenda setting class. This is the
grim in perpetuity. We can begin
latter day Patrician community.
turning the while and the tides
of time against this sorry picture.
When it coughs, the Plebs catch
A number of pre-requisites are
the cold. This class cannot afford
necessary in this regard.
to worship in empty tribal shrines
if the country’s public finance is
Professions Interest In Political
expected to begin counting and
Leadership
making a difference.
Professionals must take the
lead. They must not only
offer themselves for political
competition, they must also speak
out through their professional
bodies on the need for accountable
leadership. Beyond this, they must
participate in educating the larger
public on accountability and on the
cancerous lie that is tribal politics.
Redefine Our Sense Of
Nationhood And Priorities In The
War Against Corruption
Here it is of the essence that we
all think of ourselves as Kenyans
first and as all other identities
afterwards. If we do this, we will
recognize thieves as thieves first
and last. We will not see them
Stigmatize And Ostracize Thieves
Part of our challenge is that we
have learnt to accept and even
gentrify thieves. Even the use of
the name “corruption” deodorizes
stealing. We readily mingle with
these people and even treat them
with reverence. In 2003 we saw
school children and their teachers
taking autographs from the
architects of Goldenberg, at the
Kenyatta International Convention
Centre. The message was that these
were heroes and role models.
Thieves must be shunned and
be made to feel very lonely and
uncomfortable amidst their ill-
gotten wealth. Social stigma is a
very powerful weapon that Kenyans
have not employed. We have seen
public looters across the political
divide occupying special seats in
houses of prayer and being greeted
with supported hands by curtsying
priests. Even such churches and
priests should be ostracized. We
must be able to tell some people,
“Your money stinks, pesa zako
zinanuka.”
Love Ourselves
We need to focus more on love
for ourselves and less on hate
for others in order to make the
necessary breakthroughs. Anti
corruption successes from places
like Singapore tell of countries
whose people and leaders
have focused more on love for
themselves and for their country
than on their dislike for other
people.
Government Openness
This has worked very well in
countries such as Denmark,
Finland, New Zealand and Sweden.
Such openness goes hand in
glove with media freedom and
toleration for civil society probity
into government. Lessons from
emerging European democracies
like Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia
and Montenegro also show that
declaration of wealth, where it is
genuine, will also help.
It is instructive, however, that in
this openness, the citizens focus on
issues rather than on regionalism and
ethnicity. For governments that enjoy
ethnic protection are not known for
their openness to public probity.
Mr. Barrack Muluka is the CEO
of Midas Touch Media Limited,
a publishing editor and strategic
communications consultant. This piece
was assembled from his powerful
key note address at the recently held
Kisumu Quiznite. You can indulge him
on this or related matters via email at:
[email protected].