Senate watchdog committees have said cartels in the ‘new regime’ are frustrating and harassing Auditor General Nancy Gathungu to throw in the towel on the graft war.
The Senate Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and Public Investment Committees (PIC) said the corrupt are pushing to the wall Gathungu who has continued to expose graft in the government.
The panels spoke after Gathungu’s pronouncement that appeared to some to suggest she’s given up on the fight against the vice. Oths saishe wa being sarcatic.
She charged that perhaps a campaign should be started to encourage people stealing public money to invest locally.
“Steal it in Kenya, invest it in Kenya. I may sound like I am saying this in jest but I am very serious about it,” Gathungu said.
Addressing a press conference at Parliament Buildings on Thursday, PAC committee chairman Moses Kajwang' and his PIC counterpart Godfrey Osotsi termed the assertion as weird.
Yesterday, Kajwang and Osotsi held that Kenyans must be concerned when the watchdog declares that it is okay for ‘hyenas to steal sheep as long as a piece of steak is shared with the owner'.
“Whereas we still suspect that the OAG remains an honest public servant and committed watchdog, it is baffling why she would throw in the towel and give a visa to corrupt hyenas at this time when Kenyans are suffering major economic crises,” Kajwang' said.
“We can only hypothesise that her frustration coincides with the ascent to power of the new regime,” Kajwang’ said in a joint statement.
“We cannot elevate corruption into an economic activity; no country ever succeeded by doing so. We should never glorify the corrupt and should never allow them the peace to enjoy proceeds of their crimes,” he added.
The two lawmakers charged that since Kenya Kwanza took over State House, many of the institutions mandated to fight corruption have faced harassment and, some are disillusioned.
According to Kajwang’, the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) that is supposed to prosecute the corrupt has instead chosen to ‘sanitise graft suspects.’
“The DPP has dropped charges facing a small tribal and political elite that is at the center of the current government. Those whose cases have been dropped have been appointed to the highest levels of state,” he said.
Since the election of the new regime, DPP Noordin Haji has dropped high cases involving billions of shillings
Kajwang’ said it was an embarrassment that the DPP is still in office despite confessions that he filed cases under pressure, adding the EACC and DCI who are charged with investigating corruption have been neutered.
The third term legislator further claimed that the institutions charged with the responsibility of fighting corruption, have continued to receive stern warnings from the presidency with a view to controlling when, how and who they investigate.
“The Kenya Revenue Authority has been weaponised to settle scores with leaders of the past regime and to sanitise tax evasion schemes of members of the new political elite.”
“The Cabinet is occupied by individuals who are regular guests of the criminal justice system who have ongoing corruption and criminal cases.”
Kajwang’ further averred the public whose sweat and labour fill up the consolidated fund continue to elect the most corrupt and the least worthy to important offices of leadership.
He added that Parliament that is meant to oversight the use of public funds is led by individuals who have been subject of past corruption inquiries, some of which remain unresolved and unprosecuted.
According to Kajwang’, the circumstances could be tempting for the OAG to give up and turn to divine intervention.
The duo challenged Gathungu to remain steadfast and resist the temptation to open the doors of the sheepfold to corrupt hyenas.
“Like the Oracle of Delphi, the OAG must always tell Kenyans the uncomfortable truth about thieves in our midst and those who make a living off our hard-earned taxes."
"The church that should be the moral compass of the nation has chosen money as it’s true north,”Kajwang’ said.
(Edited by V. Graham).
