Kikwete Fires Minister Over Corruption Scandal

[Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants]

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I have no idea what tribe any of these people(Kikwete, Tibaijuka) are.  Who is Tibaijuka going to run to for succor?

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30585980

[Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants]

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.

http://www.eastbourneherald.co.uk/news/local/court-smith-ouzman-pair-found-guilty-of-making-corrupt-payments-1-6487825

[Omollo]

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

[Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants]

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.

[MOON Ki]

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.