Ongoing War on Corruption Needs to be Sustained

The Auditor General in his various reports has continually raised the red flag over the misuse of billions of public funds by the counties and the various state agencies. The reports have revealed massive looting, wastage and unsupported spending at a time when the country is grappling with overborrowing to fund development projects both at the national and the county levels. Corruption is presently one of the major challenges facing this county and has been identified as the single-most threat to human existence and relationship leading some commentators to call for its recognition as a crime against humanity.

According to the World Bank, corruption exacerbates poverty especially in countries struggling to achieve meaningful economic growth and undermines the ability of the government to deliver services to the people. In the context of constitutionalism, corruption is the antithesis of the rule of law and administration of justice. It is a threat to democracy in that it saps the legitimacy and erodes trust in government. In the recent past we have witnessed reinvigorated efforts to address the widespread scourge of corruption. This has included a number of convictions where the courts have imposed stiffer penalties on the accused persons, prosecution of high-profile individuals, relatively swift investigations especially by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, tracing and preservation of alleged corruptly acquired wealth pending the recovery proceedings, and revelations of corruption by the Auditor General in his various reports. The executive on its part have shown the political will which is a critical success factor in the fight against corruption. Notably, President Uhuru Kenyatta has provided leadership and support to the fight against corruption through various pronouncements, Executive Orders and initiatives. He has not only created an enabling environment for anti-corruption agencies, but he has also ensured enhanced budgetary allocation to the agencies to enable them undertake their work effectively. For instance, even in the face of the recent austerity measures by the government, the allocations for agencies such as the Judiciary, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations were enhanced.