Why lords of graft should pack and run, very fast

Money is sweet. Money obtained corruptly seems even sweeter.

But it is not.

Like wearing a stolen jacket, one always looks over the shoulder fearing that the owner might spot it and embarrass them, but keeps hoping it won’t happen. Money and wealth obtained through corruption is stolen property. And like all stolen property, culpability falls on both the thief and the beneficiaries. Heard of a crime called handling stolen property? That is what children, spouses, relatives and friends of corrupt individuals and public officers are guilty of anytime they drive cars, sleep in houses and even eat food bought by money stolen from the poor public by corrupt means.

So the next time you sell that towel at Sh100,000, remember you are making your child, wife/husband, mother, an accomplice of theft.

STOLEN PROPERTY

And, soon, you are going to be caught. And all your beneficiaries will be exposed for who they are -- beneficiaries of proceeds of crime!

You see, that whole system of corruption is about to fall apart. The house of cards is about to start crumbling and the hidden cogs will be exposed.

Recently, the church sounded a warning when its officials hinted at a one year amnesty appeal for those who have stolen public money to confess, return the loot and seek forgiveness. But a year might be too long!

The President, that Commander-in-Chief under whom all investigative and security agencies of the country fall, seems to have other ideas.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has released a more urgent order to seek, find arrest, prosecute and punish the thieves. And the bloodbath looks like it has begun.

DEAL RUTHLESSLY

When, during a follow-up meeting to the Eighth Presidential Round Table Forum that brought together stakeholders from the government and the Kenya Private Sector Alliance a couple of weeks ago the President said: “We are going to deal ruthlessly with corruption, both real and perceived.” 

Many thought it was the usual hot air associated with political talk. But it is clearly not.

Just a few days later, the multi-billion National Youth Service (NYS) scandal was brought to the public’s attention. Barely a week on, another mega one was exposed, the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) had been used to pilfer billions of public money to private pockets. I have a feeling that more scandalous enterprises will be brought to light soon and their architects exposed. 

That multi-billion shillings corruption scandals are being unmasked is not new. We have seen and heard so many. What is new in the latest trend is that the exposure of the executives seems to be orchestrated from the Executive, pun intended.

EFFECTIVE STRATEGY

And that is where the problem for the corrupt lies.

When, for instance, the lid over the NYS II scam was lifted, a high ranking official of the parent ministry was quoted complaining that an intelligence agency of the State had “exaggerated” the enormity of the figures stolen. The absurdity of the admission and seeming justification of theft aside, it was telling where the order for and blessing of the investigation was coming from. Also, by the time the media highlighted the robbery at NCPB, the board’s chief executive and a few managers had already been pushed out of office, indicating that unlike in the past, the media are catching up on what the Executive is doing and not the other way round.

It looks like it is a strategy: Investigate, expose and punish. This strategy is effective in more than one sense.

WITCH-HUNT

First, it establishes facts and insulates the Executive against possible accusation of witch-hunt and crumbling of cases at prosecution level. Secondly, it consolidates public support and provides the media a base for their stories and, thirdly, it is effective in disorganising culprits’ cover-up options.

And this why the cartels, as referred to by Nandi Hills and Moiben MPs, Alfred Keter and Silas Tiren respectively, when they reacted to the NCPB scandal exposure, need to start thinking of where to hide. They are about to re-discover that The President, and not they, is running this country.

BOILING POINT

What is becoming clearer by the day is that the investigative agencies of the State have the support and goodwill from the highest office on the land and are seemingly holding nothing back in pursuit of graft peddlers. They seem to have acquired a sense of bravery rarely seen before and this should worry those in the stealing industry.

With the President’s resolve clearly on slaying corruption, the newly hired directors of criminal investigation and public prosecutions’ enthusiasm to show their capability and the public anger at the boiling point, merchants of graft are better advised to pack and run. The day of reckoning is closer now than ever before.

Michael Cherambos is a social commentator based in Nairobi. [email protected]