Use primaries to end impunity
Members of Jubilee Party queue to vote during the party’s primaries at Moi Primary School in Nairobi in April 2017.
What you need to know:
- First time politicians wishing to give their seats another go will hope to get nominated as a matter of course.
- The list may also include serving politicians facing corruption, rape, and murder charges or even those already convicted.
The season for party nominations is upon us as we go into the next general elections. The nominations exercise has previously been marred by violence, bribery and even disappearances. When we talk of history of political violence in the country, political parties rarely get punished. Citizens are left to pick up the pieces once culprits have made their way to Parliament following chaotic elections exacerbated by party animosity.
First time politicians wishing to give their seats another go will hope to get nominated as a matter of course. The list may also include serving politicians facing corruption, rape, and murder charges or even those already convicted. For a very long time, the law has been made flexible for criminal politicians by their political parties for the sake of votes.
The question that we now need to ask is why have political parties been allowed to operate outside the law? By overstepping the integrity clause in Chapter six of the constitution on Ethics and Integrity and giving nomination nod to individuals with questionable characters, political parties are clearly in breach of the law.
Giving politicians who are not credible the right to nomination to represent a locality is misrepresentation. Any other individual or business enterprise that misrepresents itself or their business would otherwise be charged with fraud. In the same token, political parties must also henceforth be held accountable if it is known that the individual, nominated was of questionable character and went on to commit a crime such as embezzling of public funds.
Stealing public funds
It is only proper to hold political parties accountable for breach of the law. Misrepresentation is a crime punishable in law. Therefore, political parties that tell us the person they nominated is squeaky clean despite having a criminal cloud hanging over them must be punished for lying.
There was frenzy of party hopping just before the deadline and many politicians facing corruption and even barred from vying for office, have been given a home in other political parties to try their chance in the next elections. Party hopping in this fashion has only one aim, to launder the corrupt individuals’ character and must not be allowed to happen.
Integrity matters are not disposable issues that hence political parties take it upon themselves to cleanse the sins of individuals who have caused communities untold suffering and damage through their acts of stealing public funds meant for electorates’ benefit.
Integrity and ethics have long been sacrificed at the altar of politics and this trend needs to be reversed by compelling political parties to stop giving nominations to individuals whose credibility has been put to question. Whether they have been charged in court or not is immaterial. It is not rocket science to know that an individual who has faced criminal charges in court and/or convicted has his or her credibility in tatters, and therefore should never be allowed to hold public office in any capacity in public’s interest.
Vetting process for those aspiring to public offices has been left to vetting authorities and this is not sufficient. Political parties have duty to their voters and the country to make sure that those they nominate and put their names forward for election also meet the code of conduct set by political parties that is commensurate to those standards set by the Chapter Six of the constitution on integrity and ethics.
Lack of honest workers
The responsibility of maintaining integrity in Kenya is everyone’s and that includes political parties too. There is no need to preach on ending corruption and fighting this and that crime and then turning around and embracing every crook in town and even allowing them to serve in government.
Politicians form the legislative assemblies from the counties to the bi-cameral parliaments. Their primary role is to make laws that will be used to create an ordered and law-abiding society. It is inconceivable that those given nominations by political parties with criminal records in their back pockets will be relied upon to make laws when they go about wantonly breaching laws themselves and clearly unfit to serve.
There is no impunity where there is integrity. The fact that we keep on decrying the level of corruption and impunity in Kenya just shows that the leadership, starting with the criminals given nominations, is morally bankrupt and lacking integrity to run the country. Essentially, we are building the country on loose sands with no basic foundations derived from honesty, integrity, and the law.
Prof Magoha was right when he said recently that Kenya is rich but lacks honest workers. Politicians are workers too lest they forgot and must be drawn from men and women who are honest and credible in law and in conduct. Political parties must do their bit in fighting impunity by nominating members who truly match the requirements of Chapter Six of the Kenyan constitution. They have moral and legal duty to nominate men and women with integrity. It is one and major way to end impunity that has gripped the country.
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Politicians giving cash are bribing voters. Bribery being a crime means politicians are in contravention of the law. It is pointless for Prof Fred Matiangi, CS for Interior to ask citizens to stop scrambling for cash from politicians. The people to stop are politicians. They are both committing and abetting a crime at their rallies by dishing out money and gifts and need to be charged with bribery and for being a threat to security.
Ms Guyo is a legal researcher. [email protected]