Graft under siege in Kenya?

  Corruption is becoming a dangerous business in Kenya! In the last two days, five people convicted of graft have been fined a total of Ksh 100 million (US$1 million) and sentenced to jail for a total of 20 years! That sounds like a clear deterrent if there was any.
 And if that is not deterrent enough, the entry of spies into the investigation of graft is a warning shot that the days of graft are running short. The spies, of the National Intelligence Service, NIS, are in the thick of investigations in the latest scam to hit the National Youth Service, NYS.
The department is said to have paid a whopping Kshs 9 billion, (US$90 million) to ghost suppliers in the last two years. This so soon after the then Cabinet Secretary for Devolution, Anne Waiguru, was hounded out of office over graft scam in the same department.
Waiguru was hounded out over an alleged loss of Kshs 791 million (US$7.9million). That ten times more was stolen after her departure is disturbing. It suggests that the thieves in the department were left untouched. Some reports suggest, that she was hounded out by corrupt cartels salivating for the loot in the department, which fell under her docket.
Top to Bottom: Kihara Kariuki, Noordin Haji,
 and George Kinot: Uhuru's graft Killer Squad?

Apparently, they had a field day. And this lends weight to the claim that she stood against the cartels which then resolved to hound her out of office. The people of her home county did not buy the crap about her corrupt deals, they elected Governor of Kirinyaga.

 Back to the sentencing. A former permanent secretary, a former City Clerk, a legal secretary and another senior officer in the former Nairobi City Council were today sentenced for their role in the purchase of a piece of rock for a cemetery. The last two were fined Ksh 52 million($520,000) and Ksh 32 million($320,000) respectively. The former two were fined a million each ($10,000).

 Yesterday, a former District Accountant was fined Ksh16.5 million( US$165,000) for stealing Kshs 3.8 million ($38,000) and four years in jail.

Anne Waiguru: Hounded out of
office by graft cartels?
 That the big fish are being sentenced on conviction must worry the small fish. They must fear that they are the next in line. They have cause to worry. With the sleuths in the thick of things, many heads will roll. These guys out ghost criminals and terrorists, Desktop thieves must be easy prey for they can be monitored both electronically and physically.

That it was not business as usual, was signaled when the former A-G, Githu Muigai suddenly resigned and was replaced by the President of the Court of Appeal Paul Kihara Kariuki, the former head of sleuths, Ndegwa Muhoro, was relieved of his duties in January and replaced by his Deputy, George Maingi  Kinoti.  The former Director of Public Prosecutions, Keriako Tobiko, was appointed Cabinet Secretary and replaced by another spy, Noordin Haji.

Apparently, President Kenyatta is determined to slay the ghost of graft and he wants men he can trust in place to help him slay it. He has in the past complained that graft has the capacity to destroy this country and to derail his "Big Four Agenda".

The Big Four is the legacy he wants to bequeath on Kenya as the legacy of his Presidency. He is therefore likely to be merciless with thieves. The National intelligence is said to have briefed the President about the loss of Ksh9 billion at NYS. The president then allowed the story to leak to the press.

So a number of people must be having sleepless nights for they are staring at jail and bankruptcy. If the tempo is maintained, a number of senior and junior officials in the government, especially, the Treasury building and the NYS headquarters on Thika Road must be pretty worried.

Also worried are businessmen who supply air to the National Youth Service and get paid for it. They could lose everything they worked for or stole. And it is not only these, everyone who has a case pending at the anti-corruption court has cause to worry. The precedent has been set and their turn is coming soon.
 If the NYS scam is anything to go by, then, targeting Cabinet Secretaries and Permanent Secretaries is not enough, The battle must slide lower persuing accountants, auditors procurement officers, and Clerks.

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