1 December 2011
editorial
When the Narc government came to power in 2002 after ousting the notorious Kanu kleptocracy, a barrage of words and flurry of activities erupted, all to the effect that the war on corruption had started in earnest.
Indeed, there were high expectations that the new government would clean up the veritable Augean Stables that Kenya had turned into.
After all, the new government was mainly made up of reformists who had incessantly expressed abhorrence of thievery of every kind.
Purges were even conducted with great aplomb, though, in the end, nothing much came of them.
In fact, all that sound and fury eventually signified nothing.
Today, a people who had once been dubbed the most optimistic on earth, must actually be the most pessimistic, judging from all the unflattering attention they have been receiving.
On Wednesday, Kenya was ranked top among the countries with the highest rate of economic crimes in the world by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, a global accountancy and audit firm.
And yesterday, another audit by Transparency International indicated that Kenya has maintained its position as one of the most corrupt countries on earth, a terrible indictment.
The conclusion can only be that there never was any political will to fight economic crimes, despite all the noise about zero-tolerance.
Even institutions set up to fight the scourge like the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission have spectacularly failed, giving the impression they were only created to hoodwink Kenyans.
That is why, even as we welcome the newly nominated KACC director Mumo Matemu, we are aware there have been four men before him and each has failed, in his own way, to touch, let alone crush, the octopus of corruption.
AllAfrica – All the Time