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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].