House team did a shoddy job of vetting nominees to the Cabinet

 

By MACHARIA GAITHO, May 13   2013

In Summary

• Never in the history of Kenya has one individual so owned the courts. A cursory look at the records will reveal that Pattni holds the Kenya record for the number of judgments given in his favour behind closed doors, usually without the knowledge of other parties to the suits.
• The more our leaders dish out the lolly, the more you can be sure they are stealing from the public coffers. You can also be sure that what they are “giving back to society” is only a small fraction of the amounts looted.

Watching on live TV the vetting of Cabinet nominees, some wag commented on social media that Kamlesh Pattni would have passed scrutiny with flying colours.

Soon after came news that some tribunal had awarded the architect of the Goldenberg scandal yet more billions from the public coffers.

Indeed, the casual and uninformed way in which the Parliamentary Committee interrogated the men and women nominated to the Cabinet made a mockery of the whole exercise.

Parliamentary vetting was introduced to open up nominees to public scrutiny and weed out those whose shady backgrounds, history of corruption and ethical and moral failures disqualify them from high public office.

The vetting we witnessed indicated that even the most unscrupulous individuals with integrity issues from here to eternity will be given a clean bill of health.

Hence, indeed one Pattni would have gotten the nod in the same way he has for two decades and more bamboozled a Judiciary that forever quakes in its collective robes whenever he marches down the corridors of injustice.

Never in the history of Kenya has one individual so owned the courts. A cursory look at the records will reveal that Pattni holds the Kenya record for the number of judgments given in his favour behind closed doors, usually without the knowledge of other parties to the suits.

A large number of judges notorious for Pattni-friendly rulings have been eased out, but the rewards must be extremely attractive, for even in this day and age when we dare boast of a reformed Judiciary, there is no shortage of takers.

Those stunts that are pulled in court have always been aided and abetted by a compromised officialdom that conspires to ensure that every case against Mr Pattni is incompetently investigated and prosecuted.

The same officials will jealously guard their right to protect Mr Pattni, moving with unusual speed and firmness against any independent groups that attempt private prosecutions.

* * *

Politicians are not philanthropists. Never have been and never will be. Therefore, when our leaders go back to the old Moi-era habits of dishing out cash to every cause that strikes their fancy, be afraid, be very afraid.

The more our leaders dish out the lolly, the more you can be sure they are stealing from the public coffers. You can also be sure that what they are “giving back to society” is only a small fraction of the amounts looted.

The problem is that we cheer on politicians who dish out money. We call them kind, generous and caring, but close our eyes to the fact that it is our money, not their own, they’re being so careless with.

In the Moi days, anyone who questioned the theft of public funds would meet a familiar riposte: “Kwani ni mali ya mama yako (is it your mother’s wealth)?

I will answer that question right away before it is asked: Yes. It is my mother’s wealth. She works hard and pays her dues.

Not a single cent at the Treasury belongs to the government or to those in power. All of it belongs to me, you, our mothers, and each and every Kenyan in every corner of the republic.

When somebody steals from the Treasury, State House or the “lucrative” dockets of Agriculture, Defence, Education, national security, Roads and so on, he is not stealing from the government; he is stealing from your own pocket.

* * *

Looks like Ambassador Macharia Kamau has some explaining to do. In what could have been over-zealous endeavour to catch the attention of those in power, our man at the United Nations fired off an extraordinary missive to the UN Security Council asking, nay, demanding, that the crimes against humanity charges facing President Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto be dropped.

First, the UN has no powers to withdraw cases before the International Criminal Court.

Secondly, the tone of the letter suggested that Kenya, and therefore Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto, would cease cooperation with the ICC if the cases were not dropped.

Then there was the threat of renewed violence in Kenya if the two leaders are compelled to attend trial at The Hague. That is very dangerous territory.

mgaitho@ke.nationmedia.com