By Haron Wachira
The trouble with loving our thieves…
It’s election year, and, as always, in Kenyan politics, the most popular candidates are those that have been associated with corruption, eating. When I ask people on the street why they prefer the corrupt, the answer i get is like a chorus: “Si atatuibia!” (To steal for us). I ask “How?”, and I get an equally precise answer, “Tutamwita aje harambee.” (Fund-raising contributions, as a guest of honour!)
Ironically, in spite of ourselves and our selfish expectations, we expect that the crooks we elect this way will perform: build our roads, implement water piping; connect electricity, fund school bursaries.
Of course, deep down we know the truth. You reap what you sow. And we do!
These extracts from an interview by NICK SCHIFRIN (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/how-widespread-corruption-is-hurting-kenya/) describe and illustrate our situation:
NICK SCHIFRIN (talking to Hilary Kiplimo, marathon medalist): So, you got your medal, you got this number three, you got the jersey and you got this, but you never got a cent.
HILLARY KIPLIMO: I never got a cent.
NICK SCHIFRIN: So, where’s the money going?
HILLARY KIPLIMO: I think those people, they kept the money.
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NICK SCHIFRIN:…while police (in Kenya) let criminals free, they arrest anti-corruption campaigners like 32-year-old Boniface Mwangi. In a country where activist is a dirty word, Mwangi is a fearless, relentless firebrand.
(You can support Boniface Mwangi by buying his book: Unbounded. If you are in Kenya, order a copy of #BMUnBounded at Sh3,000. M-Pesa Buy Goods: 880922. Phone: 0792788638. The book will be delivered free of charge within Kenya).
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NICK SCHIFRIN: Fifteen years ago, Daniel Mwirigi investigated fraud at a Kenya’s Postbank. He discovered bank officers were stealing Western Union transactions. But when he reported the crime, he says his bosses colluded to frame him with the very crimes he had exposed.
NICK SCHIFRIN: It took him nearly two years to clear his name. By then, he’d lost his job, health, and reputation for good.
DANIEL MWIRIGI: My father was alive that time. He has died thinking that I am a thief. My mother was alive. She has died thinking that I’m a thief. There’s no point of doing a good job in this country. The future generations are doomed.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Kenyans refer to stealing as eating. Today, Kenyans say they watch the rich and the powerful get fat, while the people starve.
It’s clear that no good can come out of corruption, and that it tends to affect and hurt innocent people deeply and terribly. My story on “Inevitable Demises” takes another look into corruption, exploring how systems, devoid of accountability, eventually crumble under their own weight.
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Haron Wachira 