BBI-A NO END GAME TO CORRUPTION
News
On 27th November, 2019 the BBI Task Force together with political leaders officially inaugurated the BBI report to the public. In the report, it was noted that corruption was one of the nine major issues that were important to be looked upon if at all the nation wanted to prosper. In chapter eight of the report, corruption was discussed and recommendation were made hoping if implemented corruption will be a thing of the past,
Comment
From the establishment of anticorruption authority to formation of hotlines, for sure a lot of measures have been recommended and put into effect to eradicate corruption but to no avail.
On Monday, April 11, 2016 in bid to fight graft, Macharia Gaitho recommended in an article in the Nation newspaper titled, “Perhaps we need to borrow the ‘Chinese solution’ to fight graft.” Nevertheless the so called Chinese solution was found to be unrealistic. According to the daily telegraph, the corruption crackdown in china despite having harsh laws against corruption was not seen to stop the vice but only increase the perpetrators. Critics say the campaign lacked transparency and was mare a tool to ensure potential rivals were removed from key positions.
In the yester years, the government embarked on the implementation of recommendations of strengthening the institution in order to fight corruption. Hence new laws were enacted as well as institutions reformed and heavily resourced. During the anti-corruption and accountability Summit that was held at state house Nairobi on 18th October, 2016, various heads of government agencies were questioned as to why the war on graft was not being won, they responded by playing the blame game over which institution was responsible for poor results in the war on corruption. Through the blame game, different agencies demonstrated how uncapable they were to win the war on graft despite being strengthened to the latter. Armed with the so called best constitution, the executives in a show of defeat on war on graft said, “I have taken the actions that we can take within the Constitution, what do you want me to do?” For sure the outcome of the accountability summit proved that having independent institutions in its self is not a solution to win the war on gainst graft.
During his second term of his presidency, President Uhuru decided to renew the war on graft by changing leadership of various institutions hoping this time the strategy would work and graft defeated.
Exhibiting satisfaction with this new tact, the president said, “After we cleaned up the office of DPP and the DCI we have a very committed team. You have started seeing big scandals being unearthed and this is just the beginning. You haven’t seen anything yet,” But with biasness found in this tact, a section of political leaders and their community disowned the new efforts to fight graft. DP. Ruto himself criticised the manner in which Director of Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji and Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti were carrying out investigations, terming it selective. During his speech in the LSK Conference in Mombasa, DP. Ruto said,” A war on corruption that lacks integrity ceases to be a war on corruption and becomes corruption itself. A war that lacks integrity is impunity. An integrity war waged selectively, using convenient half-truths, with political outcomes in mind, is impunity,”
In short, the war on corruption cannot be worn through instruments formed by capitalist ideology, for its capitalism that has made people corrupt. When capitalism detached matter from spirit, made materialism as a purpose for life and the measure of action be benefits, then it was only natural that corruption would be the lifestyle of the society. Had matter not been detached from spirit, one would always inhibit the concept of reward and punishment, paradise and hell, good and bad before doing an action thereby avoiding corruption. Had mind not been made as a source of legislation, man would have rule by what God has revealed in regard to our way of life. As such, corruption would have been a thing of a past for the rules of God brings only tranquility and justice. Nevertheless, had man made the basis of action to be attainment of God’s pleasure and not material benefit, man would have always been guided to do good and avoid evil such as graft.
In amidst of all this confusion of not knowing how best to tame graft especially after exhausting all the efforts, it’s high time for the executive to listen to the deep and enlightened sound minds of political Islam. Just like it was prudent to adopt the partial concept of the so called Islamic financial system, a time has come to not only adopt a part of Islam, but rather a complete intellectual leadership of Islam. Indeed its only Islam, as an ideology that is an alternative to a corrupt capitalist ideology.
“And when it is said to them, “Do not cause corruption on the earth,” they say, “We are but reformers!” TMQ Qur’an 2:11
ABU LEILA,
March 1, 2020.