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Forum => Kenya Discussion => Topic started by: Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants on December 23, 2014, 07:41:11 PM

Title: Kikwete Fires Minister Over Corruption Scandal
Post by: Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants on December 23, 2014, 07:41:11 PM

I have no idea what tribe any of these people(Kikwete, Tibaijuka) are.  Who is Tibaijuka going to run to for succor?
Quote
Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete has fired a senior government minister accused of wrongly taking $1m (£640,000) from a businessman.

Land and Housing Minister Anna Tibaijuka had not shown "due diligence" when she took the money, he said.

Ms Tibaijuka, a former UN official, denies any wrongdoing.

She is the latest casualty in a corruption scandal that has rocked Tanzania's government and energy firms, straining relations with donors.

On 17 December, Attorney-General Frederick Werema resigned after MPs accused him of authorising the fraudulent transfer of about $120m to an energy firm.

He denied the allegation, but said he was stepping down because the controversy had "disrupted the country's political atmosphere".
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30585980 (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30585980)
Title: Re: Kikwete Fires Minister Over Corruption Scandal
Post by: Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants on December 23, 2014, 09:44:32 PM
Elsewhere in the universe the Smith and Ouzman employees are convicted, in the UK, for corruption involving senior members of Kenya's electoral commission.  This follows an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.  The UK equivalent of Kenya's EACC.  If EACC comes up with something I will promptly share.  They are probably still waiting to receive the memo.
Quote
Eastbourne printing firm Smith and Ouzman Ltd and two employees have been convicted as a result of a Serious Fraud Office investigation into corrupt payments made for the award of business contracts to the company.

The corrupt payments were made to public officials for business contracts in Kenya and Mauritania.

The Brampton Road company, which specialises in security documents such as ballot papers and certificates, was convicted of three counts of corruptly agreeing to make payments, contrary to section 1(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906, at Southwark Crown Court.

Christopher John Smith, 71, former chairman of Smith and Ouzman from Ripe, was convicted of two counts of corruptly agreeing to make payments.

Nicholas Charles Smith, 43, former sales and marketing director of Smith and Ouzman, from Cavendish Avenue, was convicted of three counts of corruptly agreeing to make payments.

Timothy Hamilton Forrester, 57, former international sales manager for Smith and Ouzman, was acquitted of all three counts of corruptly agreeing to make payments.

Abdirahman Mohamed Omar, 38, a sales agent, age 38, from London, was acquitted of one count of corruptly agreeing to make payments in relation to a contract in Somaliland.

David Green CB QC, director of the SFO, said, “This is the SFO’s first conviction of a corporate for offences involving bribery of foreign public officials.

“Such criminality, whether involving companies large or small severely damages the UK’s commercial reputation and feeds corrupt governance in the developing world. We are very grateful to the Kenyan authorities for their assistance in this case.”

Sentencing is due to take place on February 12.
http://www.eastbourneherald.co.uk/news/local/court-smith-ouzman-pair-found-guilty-of-making-corrupt-payments-1-6487825 (http://www.eastbourneherald.co.uk/news/local/court-smith-ouzman-pair-found-guilty-of-making-corrupt-payments-1-6487825)
Title: Re: Kikwete Fires Minister Over Corruption Scandal
Post by: Omollo on December 23, 2014, 09:57:40 PM
If Uhuru is serious about fighting corruption, why not just one word about it? So far he has kept quiet about:

1. Police Cars paid for and never delivered - Amos Kimemia
2. Billions carted out of the bank during elections and transition and not accounted for - Mutea Iringo
3. Double allocation of funds for the same supervision services on the SGR - Radissons Kamau
5. Used APCS delivered while non-working - Karangi
6. KDF smuggling charcoal and Sugar via NEP and Kenya Navy - Karangi

The list goes on
Title: Re: Kikwete Fires Minister Over Corruption Scandal
Post by: Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants on December 23, 2014, 10:47:13 PM
If Uhuru is serious about fighting corruption, why not just one word about it? So far he has kept quiet about:

1. Police Cars paid for and never delivered - Amos Kimemia
2. Billions carted out of the bank during elections and transition and not accounted for - Mutea Iringo
3. Double allocation of funds for the same supervision services on the SGR - Radissons Kamau
5. Used APCS delivered while non-working - Karangi
6. KDF smuggling charcoal and Sugar via NEP and Kenya Navy - Karangi

The list goes on
For me the obvious question is why not just disband EACC?  It's tough to blame kamwana for this particular mess.  Even if he is fully aware of the rot, he can rightly blame the inactivity on EACC.  Either way, with the morals of an alley cat, he is not going to nudge EACC to do it's work.
Title: Re: Kikwete Fires Minister Over Corruption Scandal
Post by: MOON Ki on December 23, 2014, 11:41:38 PM
For me the obvious question is why not just disband EACC?  It's tough to blame kamwana for this particular mess.  Even if he is fully aware of the rot, he can rightly blame the inactivity on EACC.  Either way, with the morals of an alley cat, he is not going to nudge EACC to do it's work.

I agree.  The institution is there, it is supposedly independent (at least it has complained about that), and it supposedly has the powers (it hasn't complained about that either).    If Uhuru went there and tried to crack the whip, I bet you'd hear cries of "interference!".   

I once heard PLO say that when he went in, he thought his job was to fight corruption but that he soon found out it was to appear to fight corruption.  And that is why the EACC cannot be disbanded: everyone, including the citizens, have some stake in the Pretend Game.    A man appreciates his girlfriend's or wife's technique but would rather not think of how she acquired it: she was a virgin, and so it was by osmosis.     Similarly, as long as the EACC exists, Kenyans can pretend that something is being done about corruption; to enquire further is just not the done thing.

Corruption, once it gets deeply rooted, is very hard to uproot, and in Kenya everyone is to blame.  It is not enough to just complain, especially when everyone seems to be at it.   Greed, grabbing, and thievery---at all levels---have reached unbelievable levels in Kenya.   From my recent experience, even finding an honest lawyer is difficult.

Choices & Consequences:

Kenyans choose their leaders on the basis of who they think will most likely steal for them (from the public coffers), will happily pay a bribe to "get an edge", .... They will complain only when they get the sharp end of the stick.   Until Kenyans really learn that choices have consequences,  I don't see much changing.   

One would have thought that Devolution would at least lead to the wrestling of control from the Big Eaters in Nairobi and, therefore, reduce the need for "why don't the big people do something?"   Instead, what has happened is that the eating has been devolved.    Perhaps this will change with time.   At any rate, with no change forthcoming from the top, I think the next best hope for Kenyans is to start at the bottom: deal with the vice at the local level and then worry about the national level.