{UAH} Pojim/WBK: Why have you gone mute??? Standard Digital News - Kenya : Why we can't pop champagne bottle yet

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000157109/why-we-can-t-pop-champagne-bottle-yet

Standard Digital News - Kenya : Why we can't pop champagne bottle yet

There are many persuasive reasons why we should not pop the champagne bottle yet for President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto over what appears to be their renewed commitment to fight corruption in Government.

We miss the point when we celebrate early, not even knowing if the allegations made against those who have stepped aside or those who already have one foot out of their glamorous offices, will survive the scrutiny of court and the law of evidence.

Yes, they make good reading indeed, and reflect a sign of boldness that we have not seen in this country in a long time. But five things worry me.

First, Mr Kenyatta had just given Chris Okemo, who is fighting extradition to face serious criminal charges, a high office in a Government agency.

Secondly, as Opposition leader Raila Odinga claimed, the 'High Priest' of corruption in Government was left untouched. From the little conversations we have had with friends, coincidentally, few seem to disagree who this might be.

But again, to touch that person has serious political implications and so to Mr Kenyatta as things stand yeye ni moto ya kuotea mbali (potentially dangerous). Note that I have not named him or her, so claim you know who it is at your own risk please. Besides, you need a blissful Easter weekend like the rest of us.

Thirdly, I have seen the report that the President gave the National Assembly and the Senate and I can tell you beneath the national cheer that greeted it from leeches that had been bled for many years to fatten the heifers in government, there is something unsettling.

Some of the individuals are clustered under what is headlined, 'specific cases...where investigations have been concluded'.

But when you look at the status of the individual files listed, you will come across such lines as, 'investigations commenced' or 'under active investigation'.

Then others like Felix Koskei and the alleged sugar barons are tagged 'preliminary' or simply 'evidence analysis'. Why this should worry us is that it may not be feasible that the cases would be complete in 60 days and even if they were, securing conviction is another matter altogether.

Worse still, while on a live morning TV show, the President's spokesman Manoah Esipisu revealed that the 60 days do not include non-working days in the calendar. So, guys, the cells are not about to open up for the sulking chaps on the list; all they will miss for now are the dozens of bodyguards and support staff.

Obviously, some will miss the opportunity to make more money.

This third matter is complicated by the twists and turns that we have seen at the Ethics and Anti- Corruption Commission, where even chairman Mumo Matemu poked holes on Uhuru's list, claiming it had been edited.

Fourthly, some of the names on the list look misplaced because their bosses should have been the ones to take the flak.

Why? Because the millions involved could not have been moved without the green-light by the big guy who may have been waiting for the bigger pie to fall on his lap at the end of the conveyor belt.

I refuse to believe that even with 'delegated authority', they can manage to pull so many strings on the purse in our national granary like that!

I have no doubt that their masters are trying to figure out how to get them out of the mud because they may just blow the cover on them. So the place to watch remains the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. This is where the road to justice for some of the prime suspects may be cut off under the cover of low evidentiary threshold.

Fifthly, and more importantly, is the new war that has opened up against the anti-graft agency. It does not help matters that the EACC team led by Mr Matemu and CEO Halakhe Waqo is at war within itself. What is significant is that when the President declared support for Mr Waqo, he in effect gave Jubilee MPs the rope to hang the commissioners via a petition already before the House.

Then two of his closest confidants – Njee Muturi (Solicitor General) and Abdikadir Mohammed (advisor on constitutional matters) – were reported to have called Mr Matemu's deputies and coerced them "to leave office quietly", then in reciprocation, they would be given diplomatic jobs, of course in faraway lands.

The question to ask is what will happen to the cases in court and the files passed to the DPP if Mr Matemu team is hounded out of office on questions of integrity?

Yes, you are right, they will fall on the face because defence lawyers will rush to court arguing that the credibility of the commission casts doubts on the independence, credibility and veracity of the findings of EACC sleuths. And with that the merchants of corruption will be free to roam again and strike their paws where the smell of honey invites the badger.

This indeed is the crux of the matter; it is what we must ask ourselves before we toast to Uhuru and Ruto. But again, our leaders deserve the benefit of doubt, which we should serve generously in the spirit of Easter which is with us today.

Happy Easter, ladies and gentlemen.

Standard Digital News - Kenya : Why we can't pop champagne bottle yet
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000157109/why-we-can-t-pop-champagne-bottle-yet‎

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