Blame colonialists for bringing corruption to Kenya, says Githaiga

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Africa for Haiti Lobby Edward Githaiga has called on Kenyans to avoid blaming President William Ruto for corruption in Kenya.

Speaking during the Morning Cafe TV47 show on Monday February 5, 2024 Githaiga noted that colonialists should be blamed for bringing corruption to Kenya.

“I’d blame the colonialists for bringing corruption to Kenya, not President William Ruto. Let’s give him this year to fight it,” said Githaiga.

“Colonialists grabbed land and took our resources, and the trend continued subsequently even with the governments that were in place earlier. Why is President Ruto being blamed for all the corruption in Kenya,” he added.

Githaiga added that President Ruto had put some measures in place to fight corruption but more needs to be done to make Kenya corruption free.

He defended the president, stating that with new appointments to the EACC, the war against corruption was successful to some extent.

According to Githaiga, it was the responsibility of all Kenyans, including opposition leaders to unite in the fight against corruption.

This was after the latest survey revealed that President William Ruto was making very little effort in fighting graft.

According to the survey, President Ruto was making threats about corrupt individuals without taking stern action against perpetrators of corruption in the country.

Kenya’s ranking on corruption

Kenya has dropped in global ranking on corruption with a score of 31 points out of 100, a decline from 32 points in 2022.

Africa’s average ranking is 34, which means corruption in Kenya was higher than the average corrupt country in the continent.

President William Ruto during a meeting with the Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation Qu Dongyu, Rome, Italy on January 30, 2024. PHOTO | WILLIAM RUTO-TWITTER

According to the latest survey, Denmark is almost corruption free with 90 points, as Somalia is at the bottom with only 11 points.

The report attributed the decline in Kenya’s ranking to very few corruption cases that have been successfully prosecuted in 2023.

War on corruption

For instance, some corruption related cases were withdrawn by the prosecution and some key suspects were acquitted of corruption charges in unclear circumstances.

“One glaring example is the Sh63 billion Arror-Kimwaror dam graft case, which is one among the several cases that are seemingly part of a broader pattern of controversies that have plagued the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in the recent past.

“Such controversial collapse of cases has eroded public confidence in the ODPP’s office’s ability to uphold the rule of law,” read part of the report.

In addition, the report cited attempts by the Kenya Kwanza administration to water down some of the anti-corruption laws in the country.

Transparency International warned that continued appointment of public officers with corruption cases at both the national government and counties was undermining the war against corruption in Kenya.