As President Mwai Kibaki faces the sun-set of his long political career, the perception that he failed to end corruption has persisted because of factual evidence that points to one of the most rotten regimes in Kenya’s history. In a new series at KSB, Jared Odero, a Kenya-Stockholmer, walks readers through the murky corridors of corruption in Kibaki’s Kenya with special focus on Free Primary Education, a great initiative which collapsed during Kibaki’s leadership because of 100% tolerance of corruption in high office.
“Corruption will now cease to be a way of life in Kenya and I call upon all those members of my government and public officers accustomed to corrupt practice to know and clearly understand that there will be no sacred cows under my government.”
Those were President Kibaki’s words during his inaugural speech on December 30, 2002. However, as he heads towards the end of his second term in 2012, this pledge has come to naught, since corruption remains all high in Kenya. Kibaki’s hands-off model of governance has only added to the perfunctory measures by various institutions and officers assigned to eradicate it. This piece focuses on the mega-scandal involving huge sums of money looted in the provision of free primary education (FPE), and confirms Kibaki’s failure in the war against corruption.
An entry in encyclopedia.com summarizes key aspects of corruption scandals during Kibaki’s first term as president: “Moi had bequeathed a foundering economy isolated from the international community”. Citing endemic corruption, the IMF had, apart from a few months in 2000, frozen its funding to Kenya since 1997, and other bilateral and multilateral donors had consequently done the same. Kibaki’s pledge to turn the economy around meant restoring investor confidence and encouraging the resumption of international aid—and so was intimately linked to his pledge to crack down on corruption.
Towards the end of 2003, international donors had resumed aid and lending, citing Kibaki’s tough stance on corruption and judicial reform. In the first two months of Kibaki’s rule, the equivalent of US $198 million stolen from public coffers was recovered. Investigations led to the suspension of a number of judges and magistrates accused of bribery and related offences. Kibaki’s government opened an inquiry into the notorious Goldenberg affair—a high-profile scandal in the early 1990s involving non-existent companies, fabricated claims, and central bank payments of billions of dollars in compensation for fake export credits for gold and diamond. It was this investigation in particular that was meant to convey the message that the top echelons within Kenyan government apparatus would no longer be able to plunder the state with impunity.
Despite early signs of improvement, however, high-level sleaze, corruption and mistrust continued to characterize the economic and political landscape during Kibaki’s presidency. In a move that was perceived by many as proof of his commitment to stamp out corruption, Kibaki appointed John Githongo as chief anti-corruption investigator. In 2004, less than two years later, Githongo announced his resignation during a trip to the United Kingdom, days after the British High Commissioner had caused a diplomatic storm accusing Kenyan government officials of “eating like gluttons” and “vomiting on the shoes of foreign donors,” as quoted by Neil Ford writing for African Business. Githongo claimed that he had been prevented from investigating the activities of high-ranking officials in Kibaki’s government and a dossier he had earlier prepared exposed the Anglo-Leasing scandal, which involved approximately $20 million. The scandal was linked to a passport computer system and when it exploded, the exposure led to the resignation of a number of Kibaki’s ministers while some money flows from the United States and Germany were suspended.
Kenya among most corrupt countries
According to the latest Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index 2011 launched on 1st December 2011, Kenya was ranked 154 out of the 182 countries surveyed. The Grand Coalition Government’s zero-tolerance policy on corruption had only improved marginally by scoring 2.2 per cent compared to 2.1 per cent in 2010. Kenya’s TI Executive director Samuel Kimeu viewed the marginal progress as follows: “This is an indication that reforms catalyzed by the new Constitution have not yielded dividends in the fight against corruption. The lack of progress in tackling graft can still be attributed to lack of political will and the slow pace of reforms in critical sectors, despite implementation of the Constitution.”
Corruption, which is an impediment to socio-economic growth, is spiraled by weak institutions and political leadership. Key corruption scandals cited by Kimeu during Kibaki’s tenure were: “Anglo Leasing, Nairobi City Council cemetery, Free Primary Education funds, Ministry of Water scams, and Kazi Kwa Vijana money.” Other audit reports on mega-scandals have included the KSh425 million maize theft, the KSh7 billion oil scandal and the secret sale of the Grand Regency Hotel (undervalued at KSh2.5 billion), among many others. In a Wikileaks cable realeased in 2010 and published in spiegel.de, Kenya was described as: “A swamp of flourishing corruption extending across the country.”
When the then Senator Obama delivered a speech at Nairobi University in 2006, he mentioned that: “It is painfully obvious that corruption stifles development – it siphons off scarce resources that could improve infrastructure, bolster education systems, and strengthen public health. It stacks the deck so high against entrepreneurs that they cannot get their job-creating ideas off the ground. In fact, one recent survey showed that corruption in Kenya costs local firms six per cent of their revenues, the difference between good-paying jobs in Kenya or somewhere else. And corruption also erodes the state from the inside out, sickening the justice system until there is no justice to be found, poisoning the police forces until their presence becomes a source of insecurity rather than comfort.”
No minister jailed for corruption
Apart from ‘induced’ resignations, suspensions and recycling back into Cabinet, no Kenyan minister under Kibaki has ever been arrested and charged in court with corruption, despite glaring evidence. In 2005 when former Cooperatives Development minister Njeru Ndwiga defied the call to pay mandatory stamp duty on a parcel of land he had bought, he openly said that Kibaki had supported him by asking, “whose goat have you eaten?” The only top government official jailed for one year during Kibaki’s presidency was Dr. Margaret Gachara, former director of the National Aids Control Council (NACC). She was jailed in 2004 for fraudulently awarding herself a salary of KSh27 million ($340,000), which was seven times above her scale as a senior government official. However, Kibaki pardoned her before she completed the term. The NACC, which falls under Office of the President (OP), is riddled with financial scandals that have slowed the progress of combating HIV/Aids in Kenya.
In 2006, Transparency Watch stated: “Fears that corruption did not end with her [Gachara’s] high salary were confirmed in April 2005, when a report by the Efficiency Monitoring Unit (EMU), also based in the OP, revealed that for years, high-level public servants had used the NACC as their personal cash cow. There had been a number of early warning signals. An internal audit in June 2002 found irregularities in procurement procedures and in June 2003 the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria withheld a US $15 million AIDS grant until the government addressed corruption in the NACC.
The 300-page EMU report revealed that Kenya could not account for KSh3.64 billion (US $48 million) donated by the United Kingdom over five years since 2001. It put a figure of more than KSh37.3 million (US $490,000) on the amount used by NACC employees to pay themselves inflated salaries and fraudulent allowances, such as the payment of private water, electricity, telephone and home security bills. The largest sum was the money embezzled by Gachara, but others were also involved, including eight permanent secretaries or their representatives, and NACC Chairman Mohammed Abdallah, who was charged with embezzlement but later acquitted due to ‘lack of evidence’.” In 2010, the Kenyan government was, for the second time, denied $270 million by the Global Fund because it had not accounted for past grants. To be continued tomorrow in Part 2.
Jared Odero
Kibaki’s legacy of corruption
About the Author
Outcry over government support for Ocampo Six
By Peter Atsiaya, December 26 2011
Civil Society Organisations have reacted angrily to plans by the Government to facilitate the defence of the “Ocampo Six” suspects should their cases go for full trial at International Criminal Court (ICC).
Led by the chairman of the National Council of NGOs Ken Wafula they said Attorney General Githu Muigai had betrayed Kenyans by assuring the suspects that the Government would put mechanisms and facilitate their defence at The Hague should the ICC confirm their cases.
“The AG has gotten it wrong on this matter. This is not the Muigai we knew and his sentiments confirm that power corrupts,” said Mr Wafula.
He noted that Muigai, a product of the civil society, should be in the fore front in ensuring that the voice of the voiceless are heard.
Speaking in Eldoret, Wafula pointed out that the Ocampo Six suspects were wealthy people who did not require any facilitation using taxpayers’ money.
He noted that the AG should be pushing for facilitation of the victims affected by the post elections violence to follow proceedings at The Hague if the cases go for trial.
“Why is the AG overlooking the victims and standing by the suspects who are being accused of allegedly ruining their lives?” posed Wafula.
He added: “Muigai should know that he is the AG for all Kenyans and not the rich alone.
Wafula noted that the Ocampo Six have not asked for facilitation and wondered why the AG was pushing to use taxpayers’ money on them.
The AG was reported in the local Dailies to have said the State would facilitate the defence of the six suspects charged by the ICC should they be tried for crimes committed during the 2007/8 post elections violence.
The suspects include Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura, Postmaster General Hussein Ali, Eldoret North MP William Ruto, Tinderet MP Henry Kosgei, and radio journalist Joshua Sang.
The decision on whether the cases preferred against the suspects will go for full trial or not would be delivered next month.
What Is Corruption?
Corruption can refer to many different types of illegal acts, though they will usually all involve a person abusing their authority for their own benefit, or for the benefit of family and (political) friends. This can be government officials using public money for their own personal use, or corporate executives improperly awarding contracts or taking other decisions in exchange for bribes.
Incidents of corruption in Kenya are not limited to large corporations or government agencies. Bribe-taking is common among many lower-level officials, with the average city-dwelling Kenyan having to pay as many as 16 bribes each month just in the course of everyday life.
Tribalism, A Key Factor In Corruption
One factor that fuels the problems of corruption in Kenya is tribal loyalty. People in Kenya are first and foremost loyal to their families, then their clan (extended family), then their tribe. Member of the same clan or tribe often ‘help’ each other, even when it involves illegal corruption. Tribal influences have waned over the years, but are still strong.
Corruption and Kenya’s Presidents
Unfortunately, corruption played a role with all 3 Kenyan presidents up to now.
•Jomo Kenyatta
He was the first president of Kenya after independence in 1963. During colonialism, the European colonizers had stolen fertile lands from, among others, the Kalenjin tribe. After the independence (in 1963), Kenyatta did not return those lands to the former owners, but handed it over to members of his own clan and tribe (the Kikuyu). Kenyatta himself became one of the largest private land owners in the country.
•Daniel arap Moi
During Daniel arap Moi’s presidency – Kenya’s second president – corruption was widespread and involved Moi himself on many occasions. In the 1990s, he was part of the Goldenberg scandal, where smuggled gold was exported out of Kenya in exchange for high government subsidies. It’s one of the largest corruption scandals to date in Kenya, which involved nearly the entire Moi government. Many officials from the Central Bank, and more than 20 senior judges have also been implicated. As of 2008, only a small handful of people been charged with a criminal offense, which some see as an example of the continuing problem of corruption and favoritism.
•Mwai Kibaki
The third president, Mwai Kibaki, was elected in 2002 mainly on the promise to end corruption in Kenya once and for all. Admittedly, there have been quite some improvements in the country (among them press freedom, return of elections and introduction of free and compulsory primary education for all) but corruption had remained a big issue. To start with, his administration consists largely of Kikuyu, while this tribe is only 22 percent of the Kenyan population. From 2003 to 2006, Kibaki’s cabinet spent 14 million dollars on new Mercedes cars for themselves. In late 2008, several members of Kibaki’s parliament were found to have taken large “allowances”, which were not legally part of their official compensation. And Kibaki falsified the results of the 2007 election, leading to riots.
Kenya corruption costs government dearly
By Kevin Mwachiro
BBC News, Nairobi. 3 December 2010
The Kenyan government has said it could be losing nearly one-third of the national budget to corruption.
Finance ministry officials told a parliamentary committee the losses could be nearly $4bn (£2.5bn) a year.
They said individuals were taking huge sums meant for development projects.
Analysts say many Kenyans will be surprised not by the news of the losses, but by the fact the admission has come from such senior officials.
Kitu kidogo – the Swahili for “something small” – is how the kickbacks are commonly described in Kenya.
Taking 10% of an awarded tender or inflating project costs are said to be the commonest means of dipping into government coffers.
Corruption has been the Achilles heel of successive Kenyan regimes.
But the efforts of the country’s newly-appointed anti-corruption commissioner – who now has the power to prosecute individuals – are causing ripples in government quarters.
MPs lack will to end graft, says Mutula
By WALTER MENYA wmenya@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Monday, December 26 2011 at 22:30
Justice and Constitutional affairs minister Mutula Kilonzo on Monday accused ministers and MPs of lacking the will to fight corruption.
He said the law establishing the agency to fight graft and enhance accountability in public offices was too weak to bear any results.
The minister said Parliament watered down the Bill creating the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), resulting in a toothless watchdog. (READ: Kenya MPs in new plot to block anti-graft nominees)
“The ongoing shenanigans on the EACC nominees are no longer about anti-corruption. We need the commission. But we need an anti-corruption law with passion and more teeth,” said Mr Kilonzo.
The Bill, he said, granted the anti-graft body prosecutorial powers, but MPs deleted the provision.
“I have been avoiding the ongoing debate because the Commission’s structure is completely defective and the law itself is fundamentally flawed.
“If you want to fight corruption in this country, EACC must be given teeth to bite. Even if (Mumo) Matemu was appointed to the Commission, it would just be wasting money.”
Clause 11(d) of the Bill gave the Commission powers to investigate and recommend to the director of public prosecutions any acts of corruption or violation of codes of ethics. If the DPP did not act within a specified period of time, EACC could move to court.
“Anybody who wanted to fight corruption should have passed the Bill as I had tabled it, but Parliament killed EACC. If you want to fight corruption you must give the body charged with that responsibility the teeth to bite,” he said.
Passed at the time MPs were rushing to meet the August 27 deadline, Mr Kilonzo said: “We took a wrong turn on the floor of the house when we mutilated the original Bill that I tabled. As a politician I would say that there are very few people in Kenya with a passion to fight corruption.”
Meanwhile, the secretary of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims Mr Adan Wachu and civil society activists Ken Wafula and Ndung’u Wainaina called on the nominees — Mr Matemu, Ms Irene Keino and Prof Jane Onsongo — to withdraw so that the process can start afresh.
“Kenyans have been cheated. There has never existed the political will to fight corruption because the politicians themselves are beneficiaries of corruption,” said Mr Wafula.
President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga nominated the three to lead the reconstituted agency, but a parliamentary committee found them unfit for the posts.
However, MPs voted against the report opposing their appointment, paving way for the House to debate their suitability afresh when it resumes next year.
The new body replaced the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission which was headed by Prof Patrick Lumumba assisted by Mr Pravin Bowry, Prof Jane Onsongo and Mr John Mutonyi.
They left office in September after Parliament passed the EACC Bill and recommended appointment of a new team to lead the agency.
Free Primary Education is a joke. Why are children in Nairobi slums not in the program? Their teachers can barely speak grammatically correct English. President Kibaki is the worst president Kenya has ever had.Shame!
2013 even with the new government Corruption is rife in Kenya.
All Kenya’s previous Presidents have been corrupt. Each one of them ensures the successive ones protect them from prosecution. In Africa its difficult to find a credible country not effected high corruption. All of Kenya’s presidents are billionaires retired or not…Africa is plagued by such selfish cunning dishonest thieves. Like Jesus said Wolves in Sheep clothing misleading innocent uneducated citizens. May God burn these thieves souls in eternal hell fire.
In Kenya if you speak against a politician or especially a President you will be killed mysteriously. Intimidation began from Kenyatta’s time. People disappeared or died mysteriously. Car accidents, Wild animal attacks, thieves murdering. The Police and military departments are highly corrupt. One just has to live in Kenya to experience the high crime rate and other incidents. Sad but its reality.
Corruption remains major hurdle for education in developing world
The Nation October 7, 2013 1:00 am
Transparency International documents global dilemma, lauds Thai anti-graft campaign
For years, teachers at a senior high school in Ghana reportedly demanded bribes of around US$35 (Bt1,095) from students, in exchange for helping them pass their final exams.
In Vietnam, a recent online poll of almost 20,000 respondents conducted by Dan Tri Online Newspaper, found 62 per cent of parents admitted to being involved in some form of corruption – either by calling on connections or paying money – to register their children in their school of choice. Bribes to secure a spot can reach as much as $3,000 for a seat in a prestigious primary school. These practices only serve to make education less equal and contribute to rising inequality. In response, the government has targeted corruption in admission procedures and demanded that the number of spaces for enrolment by each age group be made public.
Experiences from the two countries were part of Transparency International’s “Global Corruption Report: Education”. Released last week, the report consists of more than 70 articles commissioned from experts in the fields of corruption and education, from universities, think-tanks, businesses, civil society and international organisations. The aim is to show governments and civil society across the globe that corruption in education – from the primary school level to university – affects schooling at every level and in multiple ways.
When resources intended for schools are siphoned off for private gain, it reduces the availability of learning and undercuts the quality of educational inputs – from learning facilities and materials to teachers and administrators. Corruption also acts as an added tax on the poor who are plagued by demands for illicit fees and bribes, compromising their access to schools. In the long term, corruption in education has adverse implications for educational quality and learning. The authors of a large study commissioned by the International Monetary Fund found corruption is consistently tied to greater cost and lower quality of education.
“From Chile to Morocco and Thailand, many of Transparency International’s chapters have shown that developing wide-ranging programmes on integrating anti-corruption initiatives in school curricula and classroom activities is key to putting an end to corruption in education. This is something we as a global movement must build on in the future,” Transparency said.
In the policy brief, TI gave recommendations to governments and civil society, which must play a role in tackling corruption in education.
Governments must adopt a human-rights based approach to education and development commitments, to ensure equal access to education for all children. They must create the right incentives for school administrators and teachers to not engage in corruption, and create better working conditions so that teachers have pride in their vocation and school. For greater transparency, they must increase information to communities, including simple changes such as clear details about school fees and testing processes.
To create better public oversight and accountability, governments must ensure funds are reaching their intended destination and disbursement levels are on track for the year. They should establish oversight bodies, such as parents’ committees in the management of schools, to help prevent and detect corruption.
Civil society should demand governments provide universal education. They must work with governments to fulfil this right by integrating it within development pledges.
_ Use existing mechanisms to bring relevant information on corruption to these global bodies’ attention;
_ Create greater awareness on the part of parents and students about the negative impacts of corruption, particularly bribing one’s way into a more prestigious school or paying to pass an exam;
_ Target anti-corruption outreach to specific groups who make decisions about schooling in a household, such as mothers;
_ Get the media – whether print, television, radio or social channels – to play an important role in shifting public opinion about bribery.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s initiative in fighting corruption in education is applauded in the report. The ‘Growing good anti-corruption’ campaign, initiated by the Centre for Philanthropy and Civil Society; Transparency Thailand and the Mapping Civil Society Approaches, Bangkok Metropolitan Adminis-tration. The organisers, in close cooperation with external experts, have developed teaching manuals to accompany the programme. In two-day workshops the teams have trained over 3,000 kindergarten to 14-year-olds in 458 schools in Bangkok, as well as 600 instructors in private Catholic schools.
‘Growing good anti-corruption’ began in 2009 by targeting children aged six to eight (kindergarten through to the third grade), which is the youngest-known age group for children being taught anti-corruption awareness.
Dr Juree Vichit-Vadakan, TI Thailand secretary-general and former president of the National Institute of Development Admin-istration, says they sought to begin inculcating children with ethics and values of a just society as early as possible. “If you begin before they’re fully socialised, there’s a much better chance of getting these values to take hold”, she explained.
The campaign has received excellent feedback from teachers and pupils, but the real obstacles to entrenching it in school instruction, said Juree, are not just achieving full acceptance among all teachers and school administrators, but also challenges to these values that children witness around them every day.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Corruption-remains-major-hurdle-for-education-in-d-30216453.html