John Githongo the INUKA Kenya CEO expressed concerns over the escalating cases of corruption which he said were negatively affecting infrastructure development in the country/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 20 – Civil society organisations under the umbrella of The Devolution Forum have given President Uhuru Kenyatta seven days to address Kenyans on what the government is doing to counter corruption in the country.
Africa Centre for Open Governance Executive Director Gladwell Otieno further urged President Kenyatta to liaise with the civil society in developing a framework to counter the corruption allegations that have plagued the government and come up with practical solutions.
“President Uhuru Kenyatta should address the country within seven days on what he proposes to do to address the runaway corruption that has engulfed his government. If the president fails to do so, we shall begin a public mobilisation for the direct citizen action to address the problem of corruption in the country,” said Otieno.
John Githongo the INUKA Kenya CEO expressed concerns over the escalating cases of corruption which he said were negatively affecting infrastructure development in the country.
He urged the President and Deputy President to walk the talk and act on those who have been linked to corruption.
“It’s very good to hear the Deputy President talking about corruption, we have also heard the President talking tough about fighting corruption; we are waiting for action. Eventually the talk becomes more and more hollow as it is repeated because we begin to lose confidence in it. You do not want a dog in your house that only barks and does not bite,” posed Githongo.
They called on the President to ensure those found guilty were dealt with promptly to ensure Kenya does not go through another Anglo Leasing scam.
Githongo called for the overhaul of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) which has recently been dogged with controversy after some commissioners were alleged to be involved in corruption.
Already a petition has been presented to Parliament calling for the removal of Chairman Mumo Matemu and Vice Chairperson Irene Keino from office.
“The petition states that Mumo Matemu and a member Ms Irene Keino of the EACC are in serious violation of the Constitution and the Ethic and Anti-Corruption Act and Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act and the Penal Code. They have shown gross misconduct in the performance of their duties as commissioners and last they are incompetent in the management of the commission,” Speaker Justin Muturi told the House Thursday.
“The mistake we often make is we get wedded to individuals. The institution of the EACC is in the constitution but if it means we move the individuals who are running it now and replace them with people in whom we can have public trust, let us do that sooner rather than later. Otherwise the result will be politicised and legitimatised and we will not get very far,” added Githongo.
Ndung’u Wainaina of the International Centre for Policy and Conflict took a swipe at Parliament saying it had failed the integrity test while urging the leadership to first acknowledge that Kenyans had lost faith in them and try to nurture back the trust.
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