Corruption, corruption everywhere:

I despair at what is happening in Kenya today. I want to believe that we have a pragmatic and wise leadership that is aware of the issues that are supposed to be in the best interests of the country, but alas what we are seeing and reading about in matters of misuse of public funds and outright theft seems to suggest otherwise!

I recently watched a 2011 viral video of then President John Atta Mills of Ghana seemingly fed up with the shenanigans and corrupt ways of those in the Customs Department in his country, storming into what may have been the customs head office at the port of Tema and proceeding to tell off the corrupt officials. The visibly annoyed president did not mince his words and lambasted those present (unfortunately the video focus is on him so we don’t see the faces of those on the firing line) for failing to look at the interests of the country first but instead enriching themselves at their work stations. This must have been a serious crisis if the president himself made an appearance perhaps suggesting the gravity of the situation.

A friend who has been in Kenya for the last 15 years made a telling comment recently that in the decade and a half that he has been in the country not a single politician or high ranking government officer has been jailed for corruption or theft of public funds. Someone else present then shared a story how the North Korean leader earlier this year reportedly had a high ranking military general executed with anti-aircraft guns virtually vaporizing him for the treasonable act of napping during a military parade where the leader was present!!

While North Korea is not known to be a bastion of civility and democracy and indeed seems to be run like a personal fiefdom whose leadership is handed down from generation to generation, and whether this (apparently widely reported) event did take place - see story under the following link http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/13/north-korean-defence-minister-executed-by-anti-aircaft-gun-report the point is that drastic action is required from a leader to make a point if things are not progressing as they should.

In my opinion, and while agreeing with the opposition who are shouting from the rooftops about corruption, corruption and more corruption in government circles (and by the way I don’t believe they would be any different were the shoe on the other foot) I think that the theft of public funds and widely reported corruption reached endemic proportions a long time ago and continues unabated and unchecked and drastic, mercurical and unprecedented action now needs to take place before the country already in the throes of an economic shutdown collapses on itself.

I may not be an economist but the current economic crisis and reports of unpaid salaries and wages to state and government officers, high interest rates as the government continues to borrow domestically, banks shutting their doors to innocent depositors, ferries breaking down at the busiest ferry crossing point in Kenya at Likoni in Mombasa is nothing but a reaction to the years of corruption and theft of public funds by those entrusted with looking after the public vault.

Unless something, anything drastic and dramatic happens to stop this nonesense, this pussy footing and shielding of cronies and busom buddies implicated in corruption scandals and long drawn out cases in court designed seemingly to cleanse the accused shall not solve a thing. It behoves those who have sworn to protect our constitution to roll up their sleeves and fight this vice before it pulls us down into the abyss together! While their tactics may not be anything as dramatic as what happened in North Korea the message needs to be sent that corrupt individuals shall be dealt with firmly and decisively. The law must be applied equally across the board and the maximum sentence handed down to the individuals that make up these cabals and networks of corruption.

Corruption is everywhere and it must be fought at all levels starting with those with the power to stop high level corruption dead in its track!!