Be fair, be firm, be fast in judging graft cases
Corruption remains the greatest threat to the country’s socioeconomic development. And the desire of Kenyans is to see those implicated in graft charged and convicted. Importantly, the investigative, prosecutorial and judicial agencies should act quickly and mete out penalties to secure public confidence in the justice system.
This week, the courts convicted two high-profile individuals of corruption. Former Cabinet Secretary Hassan Wario and Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) ex-CEO Davy Koech were separately adjudged guilty and penalised through fines and imprisonment.
On the surface, this is a good development and the clarion call is for the courts to deal expeditiously and resolutely with all pending corruption cases and punish the perpetrators by making them pay for their acts of commission and omission.
However, there is concern that such cases take inordinately long to be resolved. The case of Wario, which ranks among the fastest to be resolved, was determined after six years. The cases against Dr Koech have dragged on for more than 10 years.
Part of the problem is poor investigation, as well as lengthy and bureaucratic court processes. Not that those are inadvertent. Experience has demonstrated that, in most instances, court processes are pushed back strategically to circumvent the rule of law. The corrupt and other criminals employ all sorts of tactics to slow down the justice processes and some go to the extent of bribing to free themselves from the crimes they are accused of. Indeed, many end up walking scot-free due to a corrupted system, negating the whole legal regime.
Besides, the perpetrators of corruption deserve harsh penalties — not a mere slap on the wrist as in Wario’s case. The former CS was sentenced to a Sh3.6 million fine or six years imprisonment in default in the Sh55 million case.
Such practices must end. The courts should play their role in eradicating corruption by expeditiously punishing the guilty harshly. Further, it’s incumbent upon the investigative and prosecuting agencies to strengthen their systems to ensure speedy administration of justice. The public wants all pending corruption cases dealt with swiftly and decisively.
