• As Rotich sat at DCI headquarters, his home town, Iten in Elgeyo Marakwet and elsewhere in Rift Valley, were wagging fingers at President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga of “using” Haji and Kinoti to frustrate Kalenjin leader.
• Interestingly, no one in Central Kenya or elsewhere threw tantrums over Thugge’s arrest, among others.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
It was the former boss of the now-defunct Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Justice (Rtd) Aaron Ringera who once said, “Corruption fights back.”
The fight against corruption in this country is one of the most difficult tasks but it must go on if the efforts geared towards smothering the hydra-headed monster are to be won in order to secure the future of the next generations.
Unfortunately, some Kenyans are reading too much into the well-meaning actions of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions under Noordin Haji and the no-nonsense DCI boss, George Kinoti.
The Kenyans in question should be ashamed of themselves for using narrow ethnic lenses to rubbish the acceleration on the war on graft, and the good work by these two men.
On Monday, Haji ordered the arrest and the prosecution of more than 20 state officers suspected to have been culpable in the loss of billions set aside for the construction of Arror and Kimwarer dams. Many of the suspects were Kalenjins, and the Kalenjin Nation was livid.
As Rotich sat at DCI headquarters on Kiambu Road awaiting to record a statement, his home town, Iten in Elgeyo Marakwet and elsewhere in Rift Valley, were wagging fingers at President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga for “using” Haji and Kinoti to frustrate Kalenjin leaders and those in government.
They wailed the most for their innocent Rotich who was being crucified because of his ethnicity. Can you believe this!
Interestingly, no one in Central Kenya or elsewhere threw tantrums over Thugge’s arrest, among others.
It did not stop there: Social media was inundated with all manner of expletives by the young men and women of the community accusing the ruling party of targeting the Kalenjins under the guise of fighting corruption.
While all the suspects in this case remain innocent until proven guilty, it is important to note that thieves have no tribe. Period.
The handshake is blamed for Rotich’s troubles. Raila is accused of pulling strings behind the curtains to frustrate “our leaders”. Really?
It is unfortunate that those shouting the loudest are living in poverty because of the very people they defend with their lives.
The frequent chants of “our community is being finished” reflects the Kalenjins as a people who condone corruption, which is not true. There are Kalenjins who call out corrupt individuals from the community for who they are.
I expected my people to condemn the looting of public coffers. How can you protect people that have caused you to live without water, roads, markets for maize and your milk?
Or is this the standard case of the Stockholm Syndrome, in which a kidnap victim falls in love with her kidnapper and fervently protects him/her from prosecution?
It is no wonder Haji warned that anyone thinking of causing chaos in the aftermath of the arrests will be dealt with firmly.
There is no crime in Kalenjins loving their own kith and kin: This is good but loving blindly and reading mischief in a suspect’s prosecution is stretching imaginations too far.
It is unfortunate we read 2022 politics in this war. This is not about inheritance politics: It is about the future of our country.
How, I pray do you my brethren, want Haji and Kinoti to act in the face of the loss of billions of the dams’ monies now in private pockets? Would you rejoice if the DCI and DPP were to invite these suspects for tea and pat their backs for a job well done?
Do a calculation of what the billions that were lost could have done for you. Would you still be trekking for 10 kilometres daily in search of water if the dams had been built? Would you be hungry if your farms would be irrigated with water from the dams that were never built?