It is corruption that buys governors jobs and security

News that “more than 30 governors” had decided to stand up and be counted in presidential candidate Raila Odinga’s Azimio la Umoja camp will only surprise those with little or no knowledge about the twirls and loops that make our politics a grand auction where souls are sold to the highest bidder, or forced to join a specific orchestra by highly persuasive coercive powers.

In this case, Mr Musalia Mudavadi, who has promised a bombshell announcement today, provided the explanation for the governors’ timid acquiescence. Their gloomy faces were a clear giveaway. Mr Mudavadi voiced what many knew – the state machinery had been activated and warnings issued to the governors (several of who are serving their second and final term) that they could suffer significant discomfort if they did not jump high enough.

Mr Mudavadi, who is himself a likely candidate for the top job under the One Kenya Alliance, was blunt that several of the governors faced corruption charges or were suspected of being corrupt, making them highly vulnerable to “requests” for support.

It is the story of thieves being sent to catch their kin.

While the mobilisation value they bring to the Azimio campaigns is not obvious, there is no doubt that they have plenty of cash that they will contribute. This is cash that most of the governors have systematically looted during the time they have been in office.

Apart from a tiny minority that may have only Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana, the dazzling lifestyles that many of the others live is only possible if handsomely supplemented from the taxpayers’ money they have been entrusted to invest in public services and projects.

We have heard, for instance, of contractors that cannot be paid unless a governor personally authorises. Decisions on who gets paid are made in the homes or back seats of the Prado SUVs that are favourite rides for the governors. Others have set up dummy companies, with relatives and friends as directors that win numerous tenders – from road construction, to supplies of goods and services, including travel agencies. The latter are highly lucrative given the huge travel budgets that counties have!

So, just like they have bought freedom by corrupting security officers that were investigating grand theft at the counties, they will be banking on a possible Odinga presidency to protect them.

Money whites out corruption

And for even entertaining this notion, a lot of what to expect from that potential government is clear. It is saying that the guilty should not be afraid, money whites out corruption stains and allows life to go on.

Not to say that the other camp has a reassuring message on this. A key adviser of Deputy President William Ruto’s campaign team, Dr David Ndii, recently stated that it is not their pledge that they will fight corruption because there are institutions charged with that responsibility.

These words surprised and/or angered some Kenyans but he put an important truth out there. Tame your expectations, is the express message here.

The governors that will not be voted back or are not competing are also buying jobs. Mr Odinga will have to accommodate them somewhere, guaranteeing that many able, needier and deserving younger Kenyans will wait a little longer because they are not able to pay their way into jobs that they can and should be doing.

I have heard it said, even by Baba himself – that he will create a lot of jobs once he is in office being jobless will be like a crime, or pay families Sh6,000 monthly in lieu of jobs. I won’t burst the bubble, but dream on, dear Kenyans!

While we have to be very wary about promises made and long-term implications of actions such as the governors’ embrace, at least Kenyans can enjoy the eating and drinking that the official electioneering period triggers.

Elected officials and politicians are not only taking and returning calls now, their wallets are wide open. The villagers they have treated with disdain for so long have a chance to get a meal and a drink off them. As they are often told, they should not shy from demanding “to eat” what really is their own money.

But it could really help if, as they eat, they actually try to listen and question those seeking their votes at the ward, constituency and county level.

If we can get responsible, conscious and effective leadership here, it may set the stage for an eventual moral and ethical recovery in the leadership at the national level.

The writer, a former Editor-in-Chief Editor of Nation Media Group, is managing partner of BlueCrane Global. [email protected] , @TMshindi