Graft ‘has eroded heroes’ sacrifices’, says Kalonzo Musyoka

Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has lamented that corruption has eroded sacrifices made by national heroes since independence.

Those who gave their all for the nation have been let down by rampant graft, he said in a statement ahead of Mashujaa Day celebrations. “The unfettered dragon has consumed with unerring ferocity a significant portion of our treasury. Our coffers are an inch short of empty and we are few steps away from being declared insolvent.”

“This dragon has eaten our present and threatens our future. If we fail to act now in slaying this dragon — decisively and without remorse — there will be no Mashujaa Day to celebrate in the years ahead to come,” he said.

Mr Musyoka said the war against the menace requires all to come together and say “no to corruption”. “In order to achieve our ultimate goal of a corrupt-free country, we must all first refuse to be divided in any way; be it ethnic or perceived class stations,” he  said.

“These shameless looters unabashedly hide behind tribes and perpetuate class wars to stay ahead of the law and out of jail.”

Stolen money

He accused certain individuals of running around the country talking about ways of empowering the masses by handing back what he termed as “some of the stolen money”.

“That stops with the One Kenya vision. One Kenya will decisively and aggressively pursue all the corrupt with the same speed that they emptied our coffers,” added the Wiper leader.

“We will get back what is yours with interest. We will put to an end the narrative that ‘our tribe is being targeted’ when arrested, charged in court and asked to account for their loot.”

One Kenya, he said, will use all the recovered monies to restore dignity, development and opportunity for all Kenyans in every sphere of life.

“We, however, require you to register to vote. As of October, 18 2021, the IEBC reported that 491,968 newly registered voters had been enrolled out of the two-week target of 3,000,000; a low 15.47 per cent achievement.

“As One Kenya we recognise that this voter apathy is directly attributable to the slow pace in the war against corruption. Yet, corrupt leaders are elected by good citizens who do not vote or register to vote,” he added.

Colonial domination

He told Kenyans above the age of 18 to come out and register as voters, adding that active participation in the electoral process at all levels matters “if we are to once and for all slay this corruption menace”.

He recalled how heavily armed British police inhumanely invaded homes of suspected 106 marked African nationalists across the country on the eve of October, 20 1952, on allegations that they were the leaders of the Mau Mau insurgency against colonial domination.

“By May 1954, over 5,000 Africans had been killed. Nine years later, by the time Kenya gained its independence, over 90,000 Kenyans had been executed and/or tortured according to the Kenya Human Rights Commission and more than 160,000 detained in less than humane conditions.”

“These hundreds of thousands of women and men ignored self-interest and personal aggrandisement for our people’s political and economic freedom from the yoke of colonial rule.”