This archive report was first published on 15 December 2019.
December 15, 2019, marked a significant milestone in the fight against corruption in Kenya. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Noordin Haji, and his team have been making strides in claiming the scalps of high-profile suspects.
However, critics argue that unless corrupt officials are convicted, the campaign will remain hollow. The agencies need to up the ante and have some corrupt officials jailed and stripped of the offices they have so blatantly abused.
One of the best incentives in recent times is the proposal to pay five per cent of the proceeds of corruption to whistle-blowers. This could encourage more people to come forward with tips that can lead to the arrest of suspects.
Also welcome is the proposal by the DPP to set up a special fund through which the billions siphoned through graft can be recovered and returned to the public.
Corruption diverts much-needed funds from programmes meant to improve the people’s welfare and instead benefits a few greedy individuals. The challenge will be to ensure that the funds recovered will reach the people they were supposed to and are not just kept in public coffers for other looters to dip their fingers in the till.
