Since President Uhuru Kenyatta delivered the State of Nation Address, he has come under heavy criticisms.
This is because he failed to meet the public expectations of sacking Cabinet secretaries and other top state officers who had been adversely mentioned in mega corruption. I strongly disagree with those who interpreted this to mean the Head of State was back peddling on his earlier pledge to take on the lords of graft head-on.
Uhuru only changed the strategy and he had a good reason for doing that. In 2015, during a similar occasion, he had taken a bold move of sacking five CSs and seven PSs. But weeks later, he would find himself isolated by members of Parliament because he was targeting the hands that fed them.
In a number of occasions, these MPs would be seen flocking the CS’s office to sweet-talk them to initiate projects in their respective constituencies. Once their palms were oiled, they would not bother to play their watchdog role.
Besides, a number of MPs were also linked to corrupt dealings and associated with other criminal activities. As such, you would not expect them to come out to support the fight the war on corruption.
The President has no legal and constitutional mandate to spearhead the war on graft. These powers are vested in the institutions created by the Constitution, but surprisingly, they would also hit out at these bodies whenever their allies were put on the radar.
Kenyatta’s anti-corruption purge has failed to gain momentum. Today, a number of Kenyans have wrongly been made to believe the war on corruption is targeting Deputy President William Ruto. When you ask them to elaborate, they refer to political statements made by the DP and his allies.
Political analyst and blogger
