Mumo Matemu, the former chairperson of Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission. He was suspended and a tribunal formed to probe into his conduct (https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1440&bih=787&q=mumo+matemo&oq=mumo+matemo&gs_l=img.12..0i24.35395.39242.0.46148.11.9.0.2.2.1.1143.1618.4-1j7-1.2.0.msedr…0…1ac.1.64.img..8.3.487.WcEDxFauWBE#imgrc=BfA4xFEqa8UG2M%253A%3Br7kBaBPUffDB9M%3Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.kenya-today.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2015%252F03%252F153.jpg%3Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.kenya-today.com%252Fnews%252Fbreaking-fight-erupts-eacc-ceo-revokes-chairman-mumo-matemu-order-suspend-deputy%3B630%3B350)
Kenya’s war on graft suffered a blow last week when President Uhuru Kenyatta suspended the two commissioners from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), and formed a tribunal to investigate their conduct and suitability for office. This was the culmination of a process that began with a parliamentary committee recommending that the two commissioners be suspended, arising from a petition by a private citizen requiring that the two commissioners relinquish their positions. What has happened to the chairperson of the commission and one of the commissioners is not new. Ever since the anti-graft commission came into being, all its chairpersons have been hounded out of office by politicians. First it was Harun Mwau, followed by lawyers Aaron Ringera and Patrick Lumumba. The axe this time has fallen on Mumo Matemu. As some commentators have said, it seems like politicians have conspired not to allow the anti-graft agency to carry out its mandate freely. And it seems that this is a conspiracy by politicians from all sides of the political divide, not just the ruling coalition, which has a majority in the national assembly. The latest event comes soon after the President received a list from the agency with names of people suspected of involvement in corruption. This has led to some of these people “stepping aside” from their offices to allow for investigations by the EACC. As a citizen of this country who understands how much graft is costing this country in terms of missed development opportunities, I am surprised that Kenyans are not angry about what the executive is doing by its purported intervention in the anti-graft agency and are not demanding more from the government. I am convinced that the executive’s intervention is not in good faith and it is not for the good of the country. Why do I say so? Before parliament recommended the suspension of Matemu and his deputy Irene Keino, it was reported that two state officials, who are close to the President, and the chairman of the national assembly’s Legal Affairs Committee attempted to coerce two of the commissioners, Keino and Prof. Jane Onsongo. Prof. Onsongo gave in to the coercion and resigned abruptly, while Keino refused to give in to the blackmail. From the above scenario, it seems that the President and those around him have a vested interest in who becomes the chair and commissioners in the anti-graft agency. The commission, as the constitution envisages, is supposed to be independent. If the President and his cronies wanted Matemu, Keino and Onsongo out, the question is, whom do they want in that office? And the next question is, will such an individual be independent to do his work without fear or favour, knowing his/her predecessors were kicked out by the ruling coalition? The recent happenings now make me doubt if the President is serious about the anti-graft war. Why should he receive a report from the anti-graft body and then sanction a scheme to have the remaining commissioners kicked out by a parliament that the President’s ruling coalition controls? The war against graft in this nation has always been disrupted and frustrated by the political class for their own selfish reasons. The politicians will always shout about their support for the war against graft until one of their own is mentioned in relations to graft. Kenyans should know that they are on their own in as far as the war on graft is concerned. They should not expect much from the current crop of politicians, both in the ruling coalition and in the opposition. Politicians in both camps are cut from the same piece of cloth. They cannot lead in the war against graft. You can fight graft as long as you don’t mention anyone of them. I long for the days when the Church would speak and the ruling class would listen. The current crop of church leaders is too occupied with looking for political correctedness that it cannot do much to keep the government on check. Many leaders in the church lack the moral authority to point out to the politicians about some of the vices they perpetrate, especially corruption. Kenyans must now look for an alternative force to lead in the war against graft. The alternative can only be the civil society. All Kenyans should now support the civil society in its crusade to keep the government on check. The church too needs to find its prophetic voice again, rise to the occasion and come to the rescue of Kenyans. Kenyans, through the civil society, should find ways of taming the political class so as to deliver this nation from the marauding hands of sharks of corruption.
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