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I wanted to write something clever about Sarif Easmon's Bindeh's Gift, this title was so lending itself to the Pauline's Gift above, but there's recalictrant loose ends so I give up.

Anyhow, every daft head has decided Ida Odinga good, Pauline Musyoka bad. it is our money and not hers, so she should return it to the Treasury. No amount of charitable giving would take away from the egregious evil of taking the spousal allowance, would it?

But then the facts, especially pressing as it is presented by the loon crew  in their own laments, of this case, what actually represents good, hinge on the final outcome of Musyoka's actions. I want to say from the beginnng that much as I love civil servants over stupid politicians, and Muthaura in particular over the goon, this was a move that was both illegal and immoral.

What Pauline Musyoka's deft move has done however, is to at least removel the immorality from it.  Kenya's middle and upper classes are notoriously adept at benefiting from the state, milking it at the expense of the indigent. One has only to think of the origins of the fortunes of the likes of the Bumpkin and Le Grand Bambino to see what great fortunes this avarice has brought.

 Now assuming that Musyoka is being sincere, and that there is a system by which we can vet her contributions to charitable causes, I wager that this is a much more efficient way to spend public resources than

a) the idiocy also called Majimbo

b) ministerial vehicles

c) building social halls with CDF cash

d) 40 ministers

e) paying Maina Kiai, etc

f) helicopter trips

In a nutshell, if we are agreed that the Kenyan state is a terribly inefficient spender of public funds (note we pay again for everything our taxes are meant to supply from roads, to security, health care and education); then we should rejoice that for the next so long (audit, audit) we have a channel by which 4.8 million bob can go directly from the Treasury to those who need it the most.

I do not doubt at all that given we are a nation of low information folks, some recipients may understand the Musyoka contributions as coming from herself, and not from the government. That is a hazard, much like happens with CDF that we can tolerate, especially if it achieves food on the tables of orphans, ameliorates the plight of IDPs and helps nurse rape victims.

Silly journos building strawmen and exercising themselves describing what philanthropy is and charity is not, should simply ask themselves, put in the same spot and having to care for the interests of the poor, would they return this money to so rapacious a government? I wouldn't.This may be an entirely utilitarian argument, the illegality of the Muthaura decision persists, but the case for moral outrage I find, rests on very flimsy grounds.

This was always going to be a hard decision, and likely an unpopular one. Anyone under the sun would have seen that. Thank God Pauline Musyoka had the  courage to make it. The real task for the Kenyan media now, and civil society, ought to be to ensure that she uses not a shilling of that money on anything but charitable causes across the country.

 sincerely,

Kenyan Tax Dodgerand fan of Robin Hood