This archive report was first published on 10 October 2019.
Published on October 10, 2019, activist Boniface Mwangi has taken his criticism of President Uhuru Kenyatta's handling of corruption to a new level. In an interview with Tony Gachoka on the popular Pointblank show, Mwangi accused the president of cowardice in fighting corruption.
According to Mwangi, if Uhuru was serious about fighting corruption, he would have arrested Deputy President William Ruto long ago. Mwangi's comments come as the Catholic Church has banned the acceptance of cash donations from politicians, citing the need for accountability.
Mwangi also criticized the government's approach to corruption, calling the arrest of high-profile state officers a 'cleansing ceremony' that ultimately achieves little. He called on the government to establish a witness protection program to help win high-profile cases.
'If President Uhuru cared about his legacy, half of his Cabinet would be in jail and he would have no deputy,' Mwangi said. 'Uhuru blames others and never takes responsibility, but it is high time he acted.'
Mwangi also criticized Uhuru for not being resolute in dealing with graft cases, unlike his predecessors Mwai Kibaki and Daniel Moi. He pointed out that Auditor General Edward Ouko had presented numerous reports on corruption by governors, but they were not acted upon.
'President Uhuru has failed in the sense that he has consolidated power from Parliament and even from the Opposition through the handshake between him and Raila Odinga, but he hasn’t been using it,' Mwangi said. 'He is not acting decisively compared to other leaders such as Mwai Kibaki who was firm in his resolve and at one time sacked his close friends over graft.'
