“Three men appear to have held Kenya in the strictures of their politics. One is a prince by birth. Another is a prince who has taken on the mantle of defender of the poor. The third is a pauper by birth but has worked his way to the King’s Court.
“If we have learned lessons from the products of the Handshake and the behavior of legislators, the next General Elections should provide a revolutionary opportunity for Kenya to cleanse herself from bad politics.
Legislated theft of public funds is the root cause of corruption and a major stumbling block to attaining the middle income status envisaged in the Kenya Vision 2030.
The new politics
The new politics should provide an enabling environment for citizens to make a living from their hard-earned incomes. Embracing corruption-free society is the only option.
The Executive assents to Bills that allow legislators to rob public coffers in a conspiracy against Wanjiku. It is the root cause of entrenched corruption.
“The cost of corruption is measured not just in the billions of dollars of squandered or stolen government resources.
Fortunes of families and communities
But most poignantly, in the absence of the hospitals, schools, clean water, roads, and bridges that might have been built with that money and would have, certainly, changed the fortunes of families and communities” (UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon, December 9, 2012).
With proper representation, legislation and oversight of the Executive, Wanjiku should access the above enumerated goods and services without hand-outs from legislators.
These “usual suspects” conspiring to succeed themselves in Parliament and the Presidency represent this undesirable status quo.
Hustler dynasty contests
The coining of the ‘hustler and dynasty’ contests is in bad taste. These “usual suspects” have designed it to hoodwink Kenyans as their new fronts to use for perpetuating themselves in power.
Hustler is too negative a connotation to associate with entrepreneurs. It is the genesis of tenderpreneurs who have been captured in money laundering and conduits of stolen public funds.
Repeated use of this term does not make it positive. It is teaching our children to acquire wealth through hook and crook methods. The talk of hustler nation is, therefore, in bad taste and retrogressive.
Kenya is a republic not a kingdom
We should shun it. Kenya is a Republic and not a kingdom to be ruled by dynasties. Kenya is a constitutional democracy that is governed by the will of the people.
She is not ruled. Repeated labelling some “usual suspects” as dynasties will not convert Kenya into a kingdom.
It is a way of socializing and misleading our children that only privileged families can produce leaders.
Older haves and newer haves
The contest is between the older haves (“dynasties”) and newer haves (“hustlers”). We need to interrogate the initial sources of wealth for both the older and newer haves that are fighting to retain or acquire power through succession politics.
If these “usual suspects” succeed to continue in power, it will be business as usual. The current war against corruption will be lost forever.
Chapter Six on Leadership and Integrity was watered down by Parliament to save these “usual suspects” from scrutiny.
Values of integrity, hard work and self – sacrifice
The values of integrity, hard work and self-sacrifice were thrown out of the window. We must inculcate these values in our children from childhood to restore servant leadership in their time.
Today, a “successful leader” is one who is never ashamed of unleashing loads of cash to unsuspecting, unquestioning and innocent electorate for votes.
These hand-outs demean and relegate the recipients to second class status, deemed to be incapable of taking care of themselves.
Salary, pension, high perks and benefits
God forbid. Once elected, they settle on the mission to recover these moneys by legislating salary, pension, high perks and benefits for themselves.
These were not contemplated under Article 230(4)(a) of the Constitution. The Legislators justify the irregular and unconstitutional salary by the pretense that they pay school fees, medical bills, funeral and wedding expenses for their constituents.
They add these to the functions of legislators. They legislated salary on these grounds, but did not include the clause for auditing the very salary.
Constituents personal responsibilities
To ascertain their expenditure on the claimed constituents’ personal responsibilities. The Executive is guilty of assenting to this Bill into law for legal protection of theft of public resources.
For the economy to thrive, there must be a balance between the owners of capital and the workers. The latter provide labour that marshal land, capital and other factors of production to create wealth.
They earn a living by being paid a salary/wage from the proceeds of the goods and services that they produce.
Hand outs under proper laws
These are the voters who do not need hand-outs under proper laws and oversight of owners of capital that ensure that they are well salaried and remunerated.
The point here is to enlighten and empower the people to become self-reliant in meeting their family financial responsibilities.
The public goodwill is known to be short-lived when leaders squander the rare chance. Kenyans were rated as the happiest people (2003) and even assisted in arresting corrupt traffic officers.
Business as usual
Within no time, this fizzled out and business as usual resumed. Recently, knee-jerk reaction in the re-enforcement of the ” Michuki Rules” was reactivated with overwhelming public support.
Things are back to normal, with added mobile toll stations at higher rates. Kenyans celebrated the resolve of the President to slay the dragon of corruption.
There can never be a middle ground in fighting corruption and win it. The President has demonstrated his consistency in the war on corruption through the public goodwill presented by the Handshake.
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Caution against vigilante justice and pick fork protests
However, this may be deflected by his caution against vigilante justice and pick fork protests. The President should be suspicious of the applause he received by a section of the MPs through foot-thumping upon his pronouncement.
This group of legislators does not mean well on the war against corruption and may destroy the policy environment for the fight.
They know that the wheels of justice are too slow and take a long route with risks of frustrations and compromises along the way.
Justice
Justice, if at all, may even arrive when the President’s tenure is over, with nothing positive to remember about his fight against corruption.
It will also depend on who will succeed him. If s/he comes from the group that applauded him, the war will be lost for good.
For example, no case has been concluded for the NYS, KPLC, KPC, NCPB and KEBS suspects. Vigilante justice and pitchfork protests are some of the revolutionary weapons that the President should accept to succeed in the war on graft.
Usual suspects
The long legal route advocated by the “usual suspects” may only add to the skeletons of the Golden Berg, Anglo-Leasing and Chicken-Gate scandals.
He may only be remembered for having his cake and eat it in matters of fighting corruption. It has reached a point where bending (not breaking) the rules to get the right results is a priority.
The President does not need the courts to fire his appointees. He can sack the leaders at the apex of institutions mentioned in scandals.
Wrong sign of entitlement
The issue of stepping aside is a wrong sign of entitlement and indispensability of the individuals. It is unlawful, wasteful and ridiculous. Public offices are not their entitlement.
They are just privileged to serve in those positions. In any case some of our laws on corruption are made by thieves to protect thieves.
This is how MPs enact laws to be salaried and pensionable against tenets of Leadership. The Courts are guided by the same laws, however, flawed they may be.
High level of conspiracy against wanjiku
This is a high level of conspiracy against Wanjiku. Many people are in the state of despair. Suicides and homicides are testimony to this.
The only people living good life are Legislators and politically appointed state officers. The MPs get (do not earn) at least Ksh 1 million per month.
They turn their victims into diehard supporters through hand-outs. They become elated, unconscious that the hand-outs are products of legislated theft.
The trend
The trend may continue unless the voters get enlightened to throw out these usual suspects in the next Elections.
This is the only way to get servant leadership that will facilitate everyone to work hard and put money in their pockets and banish the begging culture.
The country has servant leaders who can change the fortunes of this great nation. However, hand-outs, parochial tribal and regional interests deny them platforms.
A country of many nations
This ensures that we remain a country of many nations. Shutting out these “usual suspects” through electoral revolution is the only way that the different ethnic groups will coalesce into one nation called Kenya.
Taxation is the only contribution made by all Kenyan nations. The use of the tax money is controlled by certain communities appointed into public institutions, based on their political persuasion.
Even though, the majority of families from the ‘favored communities’ still struggle like those from other communities, meaning that only exclusive elites access the opportunities.
Well coordinated networks
These elites create well coordinated networks to undermine the war against corruption. The NYS I is a case in point.
Kenyans have already forgotten about it after the protagonists buried the hatchet. Kenyans should look beyond party affiliations and loyalty and elect persons with visionary manifestoes.
These are people with track record in focusing on ideologies and deliverables as apposed to side shows and propaganda.
Ideological political parties
It is these foresight individuals who will come up with ideological political parties similar to the pre-independence KANU and KADU.
Voters in the next Elections should assess electoral aspirants on the basis of their motivation for electoral leadership.
The “usual suspects” are motivated by celebrity status and easy access to public coffers. Electing these “usual suspects” will put more Kenyans into despair and hopeless situations.
Professionals
Unfortunately, professionals who were elected to Parliament joined the self-serving bandwagon.
The high salary and benefits they get in Parliament is what they deserve while serving in their professional occupations.
They do not deserve them as MPs. The best they could have done is to sponsor Bills to improve salaries, remunerations and work environment for professionals to stem brain drain.
Squandered a chance
They have squandered the chance to right the wrongs and instead joined in perpetuating the absurdity.
The new blood (not based on age) in leadership may be the only solution to realize the Kenyan dream.
This justifies an electoral revolution that should see the Presidency and Parliament elude the”Usual Suspects”. Civic education on enlightenment and self-reliance of the Kenyan populace will be key.
Read more at https://thebigissue.co.ke
SEE ALSO:
The PSC remains the conduit through which money from public coffers is siphoned
Article 99(3) and Article 193(3) were, mischievously, sneaked into the Constitution by MPs in Naivasha