1. THE UNTOUCHABLES OF KENYA CORRUPTION
Two legsbad,four legs good; that is fighting corruption the Kenya way. The three untouchables of the
Kenya corruption operate as if they are above the law. Number one amongst them is the Deputy
President William S. Ruto, followed by powerful minister Anne Waiguru, and the election board
chairman Ahmed Isaack Hassan.
All these people are close to the President and work for him, except Hassan who is supposed to be
independentbyvirtue of the statusof hisoffice.Buthe toohas endedupworking forthe presidentwho
happenstobe the onlyreasonhe isstill inoffice.The DPWiliam Ruto has never been defended openly
by the president on graft claims against him, to the chagrin of his Kalenjin backers. Perhaps the
presidentbelieveshe isstrongenoughtodefendhimself.But young Anne Waiguru was defended from
the outset by the office of the president, before even corruption claims in her office started to be
investigated. Even a staunch government supporter, Ms Cecily Mbarire, the MP for Runyenjes in the
president’s backyard, said defending Waiguru was a tactical error. She said the office of the president
rushed,unnecessarilyandprematurely defendingWaiguru,andeven declaring that she would not step
aside for investigations. What of if compelling reasons emerge to make her do so? They expect the
investigatorstoconductthe probe while Waiguruisstill inoffice,sittingonthe flies to be scrutinized. It
amounts to cover-up and would hurt her reputation further in the eyes of fair-minded people.
As the senator for Makueni posed “ What is so special in Anne Waiguru to make the president defend
heron corruptionallegationswhilehe hadorderedotherministerscaughtinsuchcircumstances to step
aside for proper investigations to take place?” Waiguru after all is not constitutionally attached to the
office of the president.
In the firstplace,the ladyseemsoverburdened bythe president.She runs three ministriesrolledin one.
The ministry of Devolution is the most crucial in the country today, because it is a new administrative
venture inoursystemandis highlycapital intensive.Thenthere isthe planningministryaddedto it. The

2. planningministryused be to autonomous and when Prof. Anyang’ Nyong’o headed it the results were
quite impressive. Againitis highly financial, as it allocates funds to all ministries, even that of finance.
This way one can imagine how Waiguru’s other docket of National Youth Service, a mere department,
was allocatedSh.25 billion,whichismore thanwhatquite a goodnumberof ministriesget.AtleastNYS
shouldnot have been lumped together with such technocratic ministries as devolution and planning.
But is seems the president banked a lot on Miss Waiguru.
The impact of Waiguru’sdefence byPresidentKenyattacanbe unsettling,especially assome verysenior
people have been shown the door because of his crackdown on corruption. It also raises questions
regarding economic policy. NYS imported sugar worth millions of shillings. The total commodities
imported amounted to Sh. 520 million. This was done, yet the local sugar industry, especially the
MumiasSugar Company,wason itsknees,promptingUhururecentlytopumpinSh.1 billiontoreviveit,
eventhoughSh.5 billionisrequiredforits minimal rehabilitation. It means that the government is not
ready to back its industries, while it fleeces them to the flesh, by way of taxation. The NYS is a
governmentorganjustasMumias. Whythe governmentcanimportsugar worth Sh. 200 millionleaving
Mumias to go hang no one can tell.
Then there is the issue of importing sugar and rice through the al-shabaab port of Kismayu. Why
Kismayu of all places, when it is known to all and sundry that it is an al-shabaab business hub? What
happenedtoourestablishedportof Mombasa?Whyshoulda ministrywhose holder reports directly to
the president pay out millions in port fees to well-known international terrorists who have done
incalculable damage to the country in terms of lost lives and property? Just why?
Sometime back international news sources disclosed that the al-shabaab imported cheap sugar from
Brazil throughKismayu,packeditintoMumiasSugar Companybagsand soldit to local retail outlets. No
wonder Mumias Company is on its knees, no wonder the NYS is featuring prominently. The other day
they filled our silos with imported maize and left our farmers hanging. No wonder the maize for NYS,
also in terms of millions of bags, can be traced to neighbouring countries.

3. Overall, the preferential treatment of Waiguru might create apathy in government as Madam Charity
Ngilu, who is in trouble due to corruption claims in her lands ministry, defending herself saying that
whatever she did which is suspected to be corrupt she did with the knowledge and consent of the
president. She is being disowned by her boss.
On the otherhand the DP WilliamRutowingof Jubilee coalition, the Kalenjin URP members, insist that
Waigurustepaside.She made Maryanne Keitany,Ruto’spersonal assistantwhowaslike their first lady,
getsacked.She removedunceremoniouslyandforno goodreasontheir compatriot, Mr. Kiplimo Rugut,
frombeingthe directorof NYS, replacinghimwith theirtribesmanNelsonGithinji.They accuse Waiguru
of underminingRuto’spowerplayingthe role of co-ordinatinggovernmentministries,which is officially
Ruto’s, as he had inherited the functions of the office of the former Prime Minister. Apart from
usurpation of power,she reportsdirectlytothe presidentunlike all other ministers who report to Ruto.
It islike they got a chance now or never to deal Anne Waiguru a blow once and for all. But Uhuru has a
waywithRuto. Aftera chat withhim, Ruto called his troops and pleaded with them to halt the attacks.
This issue had already divided the cabinet. It was now going to split the coalition down the middle.
On June 30th
2015 when Uhuru and Ruto came to Kisumu he told Raila Odinga to stop Waiguru attacks,
just as he had told Ruto to stop his men. Raila said that he was for women empowerment, and is
pleasedwithwhatWaiguruisdoingintermsof slum upgradinginKibera.He saidthat he indeed started
it all underthe bannerof Kazi Kwa Vijana,YouthLabour,butUhuru,as finance ministerthen,didnotgive
a cent to the project, and indeed diverted some of the funds donors released for initiative. It is good
that Uhuru has now taken it up as a government initiative, and has actually put the lady who was in
charge of it at the PM’s office toleaditunderthe NYS. But the formerPrime Minister noted that it does
not meanif youare undertakinganoble projectthenyoushouldnotbe accountable forthe publicfunds
at stake.
Finally Ruto’s case has landed in court. One bold Kenyan from Embu Mr. Jacob Juma has taken him to
court regardinghisfive-starWestonHotel whichstandsongovernmentland.Jumaisasking the court to

4. make himstepaside,andhave hishotel removedfromgovernmentland.Earlierthis year Weston Hotel
was in the news when it annexed the playfield of the nearby Lang’ata Primary School, to use as its car
park. The pupilscame out in protests and the police, who kept a 24-hour vigil at the place, tear-gassed
and bludgeonedthemandinthe processmanyof themlostshoes,hadclothestorn-off andsome ended
up inhospital.Atthattime Ruto deniedownershipof the hotel complex.Whetherthe courtwill succeed
this time round in making him step aside remains to be seen. For he did not to do so when an Eldoret
court foundhimguiltyandpunishedhim fortakingoverlandbelongingtoaninternallydisplacedperson
during the 2007 post election mayhem.
On the election board IEBC’s chair Hassan the president cannot even talk. That the man bungled the
2013 election making it look like a house of cards seems to mean nothing to the president. Instead he
holds Hassan dear like a prized asset, and would not allow even foreign court accusations to rock him.
He isanothersacred cow in the corruption fight and gives the president a black eye amongst his peers
who are robustly transparent and carry themselves with aplomb and free conscience. Uhuru Kenyatta
findsitdifficulttoextricate himself fromthe corrupt goings-on in his government. That is the pity of it.
BY; -
FREDERICK OWINO OYARO
E-MAIL: frederickoyaro@gmail.com