Macho Reimagining The Fight Against Corruption
Countries perceived to have high levels of corruption are also known to be characterized by poor human rights records. As a result, international institutions assume a negative feedback loop between corruption and human rights.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime defines corruption as a crime committed by officials (public or private) abusing their role to procure gain for themselves or somebody else and can take different forms including abuse of power, bribery, and embezzlement among others. According to the United Nations, corruption is an adaptive and structured prodigy that calls for an all-encompassing and versatile strategy for its efficient prevention and combat. Nevertheless, conventional techniques do not have proper analytical tools to manage the brisk and structural facets that denote modern technological, political and social systems in which corruption occurs.
The news of procurement scandals is no longer news to Kenyans as they are accustomed to stories of billions of public money remunerated to ghost firms for ghost services and goods. In Kenya, 2 billion shillings are stolen every day. Despite the country having passed more than 13 laws, the convictions of the corrupt remain low.
In a nation where young people make up more than 75% of its population, it is our responsibility to revise the fight against corruption. In the Kaa Macho campaign, which kicked off in May 2021 a survey was carried out on young people aged between 18 and 30 years in different sub-counties to determine their perceptions on corruption. The survey reports that the word “politician” is perceived as corruption at 31% with bribery and theft at 27% and 26% respectively.
According to the report, the cost of corruption is quite high as the country loses an approximate of Ksh. 600 billion to corruption every year. Regretfully, Kenyans seldom learn the mastermind of such corruption schemes, or even why they are prevalent. The study reports that Kenya’s average population is 19.7 years implying that most of its population is comprised of the youth.
In the attempt to comprehend how corruption affects young people, the campaign mapped out the total amount of funds lost against the efforts of the government to fight graft. So far, the legislature of Kenya has enacted 13 different laws associated with corruption. Unexpectedly, a lot of funds still leak through corruption, assuming an upward trend. Therefore, would it be correct to say that the legislature has been unsuccessful in helping in the fight against corruption? This is a question that remains unclear on the role of the legislature in the fight against graft.
Between 2019 and 2020, over 200 billion has been misplaced in Kenya through different graft strategies. According to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the country loses an estimated 1/3 of its annual budget to corruption. Unprecedentedly, the country anticipated a win in the fight against corruption when the prosecution of Member of Parliament for Sirisia, John Waluke was successful. John Waluke was sentenced for 67 years but released after three months on a Ksh. 20 million bond. Sadly, this flaw in the system, enables the corruption culture to be embedded in our society.
Topping the list of the world’s most corrupt countries, Kenya was in 2018 ranked 144 out of 180 countries on the Corruption Perception Index by Transparency International. Over the course of 2019, 5 main corruption cases dominated all the media platforms and caught the attention of many.
In the Lands Ministry failure to account for Ksh. 20 billion corruption case, the ministry’s trial balance indicated a balance of Ksh. 1.8 billion against Ksh. 1.8 million at the end of the financial year. Besides, an extra Ksh. 2 billion could not be traced to the compensation of employees as claimed by the same ministry.
In the Mega-dams Scandal, a certain company was paid Ksh. 8 million for cutlery, while another firm supplied towels worth Ksh. 22 million. According to the Triple Governor arrested over corruption allegations, Lenolkulal was associated with a Ksh. 84.7 million fuel-supply scandal. Oryx Service Station, allegedly owned by the governor, received a tender against the law to supply to the county government.
On the other hand, the former governor of Kiambu county alongside his close family members were being investigated over the embezzlement of Ksh. 588 million from the county. Mike Sonko, the then Nairobi County Governor was arrested and charged with different corruption cases amounting to a total of Ksh. 357 million. Unsurprisingly, all the governors were slapped with cash bails to allow the court to gather more evidence.
In Kenya Power’s bogus transformers scandal, defective transformers valued at more than Ksh. 4.5 billion were allegedly procured by the corporation. Interestingly, some of the firm’s employees are suspected to have created extra tokens that enhance the sale of genuine tokens in the black market, popularly known as “token mwitu”. More than Ksh. 10 billion was feared lost in the NHIF Scandal in false medical claims. Important to note, these are just a few of the many corruption cases happening in the country, not forgetting the Maasai Mara University expose.
Access to information is considered vital in any developing democracy. Information is critical in enabling citizens to exercise their voice and to effectively monitor and hold governments accountable as well as enter into informed dialogue about decisions affecting their lives.
Based on the findings in the report, the youth depend overwhelmingly on social media for information about corruption. With Facebook and Twitter being the most used platforms and WhatsApp being the main messaging platform for sourcing information pertaining to corruption. These tools would be vital to dissemination of information to the youth demographic on corruption matters.
The campaign established that enforcement of laws on corruption and harsh punishment was considered the main method of combating corruption. 43% agreed with this assessment. Even so, more women than men, preferred recovery of stolen resources.
Due to the current corruption state in the country, optimism levels differ in the different socioeconomic classes with the higher class feeling more optimistic at 21% and lower class at 20%. However, the higher socioeconomic class is not hopeful about living in Kenya compared to the lower socioeconomic class at 23% and 27% respectively.
On the other hand, the report findings give us hope with the majority of the demographic at 46% feeling miserable at the loss of public funds, with only 2% feeling hopeless. According to The Open Society Foundation, in an article dubbed, ‘The War Against Corruption in Kenya’, Mugambi Kiai, viewed that there are several reasons why the so-called “war” on corruption has begun to elicit considerable optimism.
Some senior public officials have “stepped aside” or been suspended pending corruption investigations, and this is viewed as a genuine step in the right direction. This is evident that change is nigh, seeing as a high proportion of respondents in the study indicated they would not defend a leader implicated in corruption, whether from the same tribe or not.
However, the youth engage in corruption to avoid inconveniences, for service delivery, business deals and traffic offences, this shows a decay across all sectors of our society. About 5% only do not consider corruption as an option.
The report concluded by recommending investment of information through social media/ carrying out social action against corruption. The World Bank blog agrees with this statement, in that the use of the power of technology to build dynamic and continuous exchanges between key stakeholders: government, citizens, business, civil society groups, media and academia among others is vital in these changing times.
By engaging with politicians honestly, both can engage in anti-corruption campaigns to reduce negative bias. The campaign found a need to design and invest in mental health seeing as 57% of the demographic feel sad sometimes. The enforcement of laws in just and speedy processes would result in conviction and recovery of assets, would increase confidence among the youth in the fight against corruption. The report however did not tackle the correlation between providing employment and income generating activities opportunities and eradicating corruption.
Regrettably, young people in Kenya have inadequate ability and opportunities to make their voices heard and accounted for in relevant policies. Kenya’s transition to a devolved governance system has been derailed by, among other factors, weak oversight and accountability from local civil society groups and legislative assemblies. These institutions have inadequately utilized audit reports to hold county government executive officials accountable, allowing corruption and misappropriation of public resources to thrive.
As a youth-organization, The Youth Café has been working on complementary interventions to build the power of young Kenyans to impact government policies, uphold their rights, and fight against corruption.
Kindly Contact us to learn more about The Youth Café and the Fight Against Corruption.