RETIRED President Daniel Moi yesterday broke his long silence, warned that corruption was getting out of hand and urged Kenyans to help the government to wage the war on graft.
Speaking at a church service at Kapsabet, Moi said corruption was undermining service delivery in government and it should not be condoned anywhere.
“Ongen ole chorset ko kiy ne ya . . . amwochini Christianik tugul kotoret serikali kotar kii ya (You know
corruption is bad . . . I am appealing to all Christians to help the government eliminate this bad thing)”, said Moi.
Moi, who has kept off active politics and has been spending a lot of his time at his Kabarak home, urged all Kenyans, especially public servants, to help fight corruption.
“If you are senior government anywhere, please help in stopping this bad thing that is giving the government a bad image,” Moi added.
He stayed off the Kericho by-election campaign politics, saying Sunday was meant for prayers.
Moi’s son Gideon, the Senator for Baringo, is leading an onslaught against Deputy President William Ruto in today’s Kericho by-election for the senatorial seat.
In November last year, President Uhuru Kenyatta declared corruption a national security threat and ordered private companies to sign an approved code of conduct to transact business with government.
Two weeks ago while on a state visit to Israel, President Kenyatta said Kenyans were “experienced in stealing and perpetrating other crimes”.
Kenyans, according to the President, were also abusers and promoted tribalism.
Kenyatta has been accused of failing to do enough to curb corruption, especially in government institutions, where billions in taxpayer money have been stolen.
Kenyatta’s Jubilee administration has been hit by a series of scandals since 2013, one of the most infamous ones being the National Youth Service scam.
From the ‘Hustler Jet’ saga, to the Sh13 billion NSSF Tassia II and Hazina Towers projects, to the standard-gauge railway project and the NYS saga, to the Eurobond and the Youth Fund, among others, the government has struggled to convince Kenyans of its commitment to the war on graft.
Moi warned corruption was a vice that would ruin the nation and must be fought with the all the might it deserves.
He said it was ironical that most of those involved in graft were Christians who thronged the churches every weekend for prayers.
Moi and the presiding Bishop of the African Inland Church, the Right Reverend Silas Yego, told all those who confess Christianity to assist the government in the war on graft.
They spoke at the Kapsabet AIC station in Nandi county, when Moi presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for an ultra-modern 4,000-seat church complex.
He was accompanied by former nominated MP Mark Too and the AIC chairman, Andrew Tuimur, who is also the Principal Secretary for Livestock.
Tuimur said the new church would cost Sh120 million and so far over Sh20 million has been raised.
Kenyans, the former head of state concluded, should go back to the true Christian teachings on corruption and other social evils and help win the war on graft.