Every other day, Kenyans are treated with new reports from the corruption front, about the struggles between KACC and AG. However, this is not a battle of giants; it not a question of Amos Wako (with his not insignificant false smile that in reciprocal movement grows bigger as a situation worsens) against Aaron Ringera (with his not insignificant conviction of his own value that does not diminish under pressure, but rather... well, you get the image).
Rather, this is a tug-o-war of institutions. One of them destined to fight corruption, the other used to defend and perpetuate it. One with highly-qualified and motivated personnel (chosen through an especially tough selection process); the other understaffed with those legal sloths and leftovers that would not be able to survive in free advocate practice, and who frequently manage to bumble their cases in court, as Kenyan magistrates are wont to complain. As former Ethics Permanent Secretary John Githongo once put it: “Corruption fights back.” It is exactly this fighting back that we now witness.
Institutions can outgrow their purpose, develop their own dynamics, and become far stronger than those who created them; Kenyans, with their fixation on persons instead on issues, often fail to realize this. The famous historical example is the Comité du Salut Public, of French Revolution fame and notoriety. KACC could be heading into the same direction. What the Commission urgently needs, are prosecution powers of its own, so that it must no longer depend upon the good or bad will and lack of resources on part of the Attorney General’s office, and so that prosecution is no longer subject to political whim and expediency, as is presently the case.
Very few journalists have ever taken the time and diligence to read the KACC reports and their copiously offered information. Hardly any of them know what work KACC actually _does_, although the knowledge is at their fingertips, easily and conveniently available via the Commission's Internet website. Chairman of the KAAC Board Allan Ngugi has very rightly decried this in the foreword of the KACC 2005/06 report. There is a common impression of wananchi and journalists alike, that the commission is targeting the small fish with a fine net, but not the big ones; this impression is right and wrong at the same time. How so? On one hand, indeed many more small cases are investigated and prosecuted than large ones. And this may look petty. But it's those cases that afflict Wanjiku in real life, those who pervade and corrupt the entire fabric of society. The successful prosecution of a number of seemingly small cases will affect daily life, progress and prosperity far more than one or another high-celebrity case which only fills the headlines.
Corruption in the press is an open secret. Unlike her TV channels, Kenya’s press still maintains a high standard on an international comparison level, as everyone who has ever been in the unenviable position of being forced to live with US print media can aver. But there are a number of corrupt journalists and even more so editors, so quis ipse custodiet custodes? In two cases of evident blackmail, two journalists of cheap tabloids are now being prosecuted by the Commission, although their crime should rather be called extortion. The venality of journalists may explain some of the unjustified bad press that KACC have received after corruption “decided to fight back".
KACC's public relations department is good; and as soon as its spokesman Nicholas Simani will have internalized that excellence is not so much achieved through indispensability (motto: when I am away, silence reigns, and no statements are given), but through building such a good team of near equals that the boss becomes dispensable, then it will become very good. Its website (funded by Swiss donor money) is even excellent, and must be applauded as being the best and most informative of all GoK institutions. Very few Kenyan institutions – if any at all - make their work and achievements, but also their travail, so transparent and public, as KACC does in an exemplary way through its quarterly public reports, which can be accessed in every Internet café, in every post office. Incidentally, the worst offenders in a contrasting "conspiracy of silence and unaccountability" are Parliament and Judiciary.
Not all is gold that glitters. KACC indulges regularly in well-meant get-together events, anniversary celebrations, capacity buildings and party preparations, but as of now still lacks the proper management spirit to match it. Let me explain this criticism more clearly: the small people in KACC, from driver and secretary up to the employed advocate, do an excellent and often idealistic job. In spite of comparatively lavish budget dotations (from direct and especially from indirect donor sources), their ever-growing workload is immense, and the working conditions are bad (though better than in most other government institutions). In absence of sufficient secretaries, highly-qualified detectives are forced to type their reports and testimony transcripts themselves, wasting hours of investigative time in slow two-finger motion. Overtime hours are expected and demanded from many employees as self-understood, but are not rewarded. Leaves are not granted at all for long periods.
In typical Kenyan institutional manner, there is no culture yet of open, cheerful collaboration between the management level of KACC, and its significant work force; instead, a hierarchical attitude of aloofness and disinterest prevails, and workers are not yet seen by their superiors and supervisors as team members, but as expendable peons. Kenyans, as a nation, are obsessed with the mere buzzword "leadership" (as are US Americans); evidently, there is still a failure of proper internal leadership here, and this is not remedied by togetherness outings and team-building exercises, but firstly by a diligent, humane and thoroughly responsible treatment of one's employees. The commission should set an example here. It cannot at the same time expect corporate whistleblowers to speak out freely, yet attempt to treat its very own staff like indentured servants. The manor house, in these days, is owned by the workers; and not the other way around.
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http://www.kacc.go.ke/
It is full of useful information and a "report corruption" link.
I look forward to the time when KACC asserts its independence and carries out its mandate without fear and favour. Wako and Ringera are two relics from the neanderthal Kanu dark ages who should retire from their respective fields now. They always appear to be part of the problem and not the solution.
My final comment is on the print media. We must be careful not to tarnish the names of all journalists reporters and editors because of the illegal activities of a few rogue hacks. Many of the biggest scandals in our country were exposed due to the tireless efforts of young reporters who risked everything to bring us the truth.
Way back the hero for me was a young Daily Nation reporter who was a thorn in the Nakuru administrations flesh as he reported on irregular land settlements in the early 80s. I wonder if any of your readers remember this journalist's name.