President William Ruto with US Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Uzra Zeya at State House Nairobi on August 7, 2024.
President William Ruto, the day-long darling of Washington since he took power 21 months ago, is now under pressure from the very Americans to act on graft within his government ranks.
The US re-delivered this message on Tuesday and Wednesday, just a day before President Ruto witnessed his second Cabinet take an oath of office to run affairs following weeks of deadly protests from the public who have demanded better governance.
Uzra Zeya, the US Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights met with various top government officials, including the president, on Thursday. The Nation understands Washington gave a warning about inherent impunity and corruption, some of which has been shown by public officials, including on social media.
In a meeting with Ruto on Tuesday, the US diplomat urged Nairobi to take prompt action against individual officers who have gotten richer overnight, besides containing what has been seen as excesses by the police, sources confirmed.
Ms Zeya herself did confirm discussions on police accountability and the desire to purge dirty government officials whose ill-gotten wealth should be recovered and returned to the Kenyan people.
“We have expressed our strong position on the anti-graft war. The Biden administration from the onset elevated the global war on Corruption as a security concern,” said Zeya when she completed her two-day inaugural visit to Kenya on Wednesday.
“Our priority is to strengthen the institutions fighting graft and ensure those engaged in graft are prosecuted and ill-gotten gains taken to the people.”
Both the war on corruption and police reforms formed core discussions on governance and human rights when President Ruto toured the US in a historic state visit in May.
“I look forward to working together to implement this act and jumpstarting anti-corruption reforms to promote democratic values that bind our nations together,” President Joe Biden told his guest at the White House back in May.
The two sides then yellow-penciled governance and human rights as a whole with the Biden Administration pledging to provide $500,000 for a new Fiscal Integrity Programme “to make county budget processes more transparent and inclusive and increase citizen engagement.”
It also announced another $500,000 “to broaden the reach and effectiveness of anti-corruption advocacy by empowering civil society actors to create and disseminate multimedia content that engages citizens and mobilises action against corruption.”
Washington was keen on protecting the culture of whistleblowing and said it would provide $250,000 through the Global Accountability Programme, and $300,000 to support Kenya’s proposed Whistleblower Protection law. Government agencies were to also receive some $2.7 million to support the improved “enforcement of policy and laws that deal with fraud, waste, and abuse in the delivery of public services to Kenyan citizens.”
But this money was apparently pegged on actual action from President Ruto’s side. On Thursday, Ruto did speak on whistleblowing as a key cog in the fight against corruption.
“We believe our war on corruption will be significantly boosted by measures to make it easier and safer for citizens and Whistle blowers to come forward and report corruption and economic crimes.
“For this, the reconstituted cabinet shall consider relevant amendments to the witness protection act to enhance appropriate incentives," stated Dr Ruto after witnessing 19 Cabinet Secretaries swear in at State House.
He also urged MPs through the house leadership to expedite the passage of the ‘conflict of interest’ bill that seeks to deal with state and public officers doing business with government, or failing to disclose their relations with those doing business with government.
The pressure from Washington is an apparent upturn from the previous cheerleading witnessed when Ruto took office. In fact, when protests began, the US, like other Western countries, steered clear of commenting on it before they weighed in days later when police came hard on protesters.
The call for action does not necessarily mean the US was upending its policy on the Ruto administration but could be a reminder that it will not take baggage if the corruption vice is not tamed, some officials indicated.
In Nairobi, Zeya also met with President Ruto, officials of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI), Chief Justice Martha Koome, among other top officials to discuss the graft menace, reconciliation, and those involved in police brutality.
Some of President Ruto's allies in cabinet and in parliament have been accused of openly showing opulence and questionable wealth at a time Kenyans were protesting high cost of living and opposed to more taxes.
While administering the oath of office to the 19 CSs, the president vowed to fight graft, a pledge he had constantly made without results.
He has indicated that his new cabinet has been appointed under new terms, making reference to chapters 10 and Six of the constitution.
“The first of these areas covers accountability and the fight against corruption. To enhance accountability and promote responsibility for the use of public resources, we shall introduce measures to levy a surcharge against the accounting officer or other public officer who has, by their actions or omission, occasioned loss of public resources in accordance with Articles 226(5), 201( d) and 232 (v) of the constitution.
Ms Zeya said President Ruto has pledged to follow through with steps to fight corruption in his government.
“To this end, I encouraged president Ruto to take concrete action on his recent public pledges to strengthen rule of law, champion anti-government initiatives, and advance accountability within his own government.
The corruption monster has not only been called out during the youth led protests, civil societies have also challenged specific appointments by the president in court.
Integrity issues around some officials in government remain a major concern as the office of the Director Public Prosecution dropped cases due to lack of sufficient evidence.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga, now Ruto’s ally, has also expressed concerns over the level of graft in government.
The same concerns were raised in the reports by the Controller of Budget, and Auditor General on how county funds are misappropriated.
Additional Reporting by Aggrey Mutambo
