Ruto's executive rot: When the pot calls the kettle black

On Monday, for the second time in less than a week, President William Ruto stared down Kenyans and conceded an obvious fact – corruption runs deep in Parliament, especially within its committees.

In a closed-door joint parliamentary group meeting between the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) legislators, what should have been a solemn admission of national crisis was instead reduced to what easily passes for political theatre.

The meeting, initially meant to consolidate cooperation between the two sides and attended by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and ODM leader Raila Odinga, saw remarks on corruption in Parliament steal the thunder from the main agenda.

Even so, the elephant in the room – corruption – was reduced to laughter and chuckles by parliamentarians, as though the rot Ruto described were little more than a passing joke.

But while the President points fingers at Parliament, political observers point to facts and reports from reputable bodies suggesting the problem runs much deeper in the very arm of government he leads – the Executive.

Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index handed Kenya a damning score of 32 out of 100, placing it 121st globally and in the “serious corruption” bracket.

The global anti-graft body’s country Executive Director, Sheila Masinde, reads insincerity in the latest utterances by the President.

“The President’s repeated public claims, while pointing to a potential red flag, seem like PR gimmicks, just playing to the public gallery if no action is taken,” she told *The Standard.*

Further, a recent Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) survey punctures the President’s claims.

The latest EACC survey shows that, for the umpteenth time, it is executive agencies ranging from the police, immigration, licensing offices, health facilities, and transport departments that still dominate the bribery landscape.

Currently, to advance his administration’s agenda, President Ruto seems to ride high on the backing of his newfound ally, ODM leader Raila Odinga, who has lately turned his guns on MPs with a push to dismantle the NG-CDF and NGAAF funds and channel them to counties.

In the eyes of some critics and admirers alike, Raila’s marriage of convenience with President Ruto has stained his nationalist and reformist legacy, reeking of betrayal and undermining the ideals he spent decades fighting for. His political camp has benefited from plum appointments in Ruto’s government.

“The chairpersons of those Parliamentary Committees are UDA and ODM members who are now in cooperation. Is it then the President’s own admission that corruption thrives under his administration?” questions Dr Luchetu Likaka, a scholar and political analyst.

“Unless he is bold enough to substantiate every claim he made, then there is nothing solid to take away from it,” said Japheth Gwaro, a social worker and political commentator based in Mathare, Nairobi.

Experts say the Executive, with its vast budgets, opaque spending, and unrestrained slush funds, has become the real epicentre of Kenya’s corruption quagmire, with billions of taxpayers’ money vanishing into thin air.

“It is almost what you’d call a case of the pot calling the kettle black,” argues Dr Joseph Mugachia, a governance expert with the Concerned Citizens Movement, a lobby group advocating for democracy and accountability.

“The truth is that there’s more corruption in the Executive than anywhere else. Don’t look too far, just look at the so-called empowerment programmes  splashing millions around every week, funds whose origins and approvals no one can explain.”

A string of mega corruption scandals has repeatedly dogged the Ruto administration, and many observers reckon that little commitment has been extended to neuter the vice – just lip service.

Chief among them, and one of the earliest mega scandals to hit Ruto’s administration, was the controversial Sh3.7 billion mosquito-net tender at the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (Kemsa), which was cancelled by the Global Fund after irregularities in the procurement process were noted.

The same agency, during the Covid-19 crisis, was also involved in shady procurement of Personal Protective Equipment and other medical supplies at inflated prices.

But nothing would shake the soul of the nation more than the fake fertiliser scandal, branded a direct assault on the country’s food security. Thousands of farmers were supplied with substandard inputs under the state subsidy programme.

Even with damning evidence presented, including an exposé by a local news agency, the then Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi, at the time a close ally of the President, still survived impeachment.

“That was glaring, it affirmed to everyone that the president is not and has never been keen to fight corruption, he lost an opportunity to demonstrate that he has the will to fight the dragon,” asserts Gwaro.

Then came the controversial government-to-government oil import scheme, which invoked a procurement exemption under the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, leaving room to bypass competitive tendering for multi-billion-shilling petroleum contracts.

President Ruto himself, in his Monday address, admitted that, as the country’s foremost public servant, he receives “raw intelligence” on graft. But many observers wonder what he actually does with that intelligence.

“If he truly knows, why hasn’t he made corruption the high-risk venture he promised Kenyans it would be when he assumed office?” wonders Mugachia.

Among the claims that the President stated on Monday but failed to substantiate was that some lawmakers demanded as much as Sh150 million from governors facing impeachment. Ruto posed: “Where does one even get Sh150 million? Isn’t that money meant for counties?”

At the same time, Ruto accused certain lawmakers, without mentioning names, of soliciting bribes to execute their core mandate – legislation.

“You members of the National Assembly know there are those among you who demanded Sh10 million to pass the Money Laundering Bill. Did you get the money?” he asked.

“I will not name them. I will arrest them,” Ruto retorted.

Suna East legislator Junet Mohamed, in an apparent jest but seemingly intentioned to water down the claims, stated: “Lobbying is accepted worldwide. It is people from outside who come to Parliament to lobby, not MPs extorting anyone.”

ODM leader Raila Odinga dismissed Junet: “Extortion is not lobbying.” “MPs should not be soliciting funds. The environment we are creating here is very hostile to investment. When foreign investors come to our country to invest their resources and they find too much bureaucracy and extortion, they run away,” observed Raila.

Raila added: “When MPs purport to cancel projects that have been signed, that’s the work of the Executive, not legislators. Legislators should not be competing with the Executive in terms of implementation of projects; they only come in to correct the Executive when they go wrong. We must create a healthy environment for implementation of projects in the country; then this country will develop.”

Mugachia observes that the shifting of goalposts will prove costly to the nation.

“Actually, it is no secret that it is the Executive that normally bribes the Legislature. These are two players essentially attacking each other, the Executive here being the main perpetrator,” says Mugachia.

According to Likaka, President Ruto’s outburst rang hollow.

“By casting MPs as the villains of graft, the President is engaging in deflection, not reform,” stated Likaka.

“Every week, Kenyans watch as his close allies dish out millions in churches and public rallies under the guise of empowerment programmes. The Harambee Stars football team is promised and awarded millions after every win, but the public has never been shown where such funds are drawn from. These acts, cloaked as generosity, are in fact the same currency of patronage politics that fuels corruption,” added Likaka.

Additionally, under the current administration, some high-profile graft and murder cases against Ruto’s political allies have seemingly melted away quietly, as state prosecutors cite insufficient evidence.

“The biggest problem we have in this country is the capture of Parliament by the Executive. Let’s not even try for a moment to shift blame, that’s the naked truth,” asserts Mugachia.

Likaka, on his part, adds: “To decry corruption in Parliament while tolerating or even enabling similar practices in the Executive is to see the speck in MPs’ eyes and ignore the log at State House.”

Even the much-hyped National Dialogue Committee (NADCO), convened to cool political tensions after the disputed 2022 General Elections, has been viewed as a larger scheme meant to plunder public resources.

“I don’t know why our President can’t see this as corruption. It had nothing, absolutely nothing, for the common person. The grand plan was to simply create offices for former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his men, less about governance than elite accommodation, just an insider’s deal,” says Maurice Ojwang’ of the Bunge la Mwananchi in Mathare.

President Ruto ascended to power in 2022 riding heavily on a promise to make corruption a high-risk venture, even publicly pledging to set up a state capture inquiry within 30 days. But that promise has thus far remained nothing but a pipe dream.

Violet Khaemba, a banker in Nairobi, says the current administration has dropped the ball in the fight against graft, and when such happens the lowest in society suffer the most.

Another uproar came when the state proposed the concession of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to India’s Adani Group, and even with mounting public indignation, the state remained hell-bent on pushing through.

The deal only came to a crashing halt under intense public pressure last year, but only after reaching an advanced stage with minimal disclosure.

“The number of times we hear money has been stolen is mind-boggling. We, the poorest in the pyramid of things, are the ones taking the heat. It’s tough to live in this country.”

Masinde suggests it is time to remind lawmakers of what is expected of them by the citizenry.

“If we must, there is need to reorient MPs on the leadership and integrity provisions in the Constitution, the legislative framework on leadership and integrity that is the Leadership and Integrity Act, the Public Officers and Ethics Act, Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act, and the Rules governing the conduct of MPs,” says Masinde.

She adds: “This will help correct parliamentary behaviour and ethics standards, essential elements to secure public trust and foster a culture of public service that favours public interest over private gains.”

Likaka thinks the fight against corruption will feature dominantly in the next General Elections.

“Unless he takes decisive action, stopping patronage, empowering EACC without interference, and prosecuting graft without fear or favour, the President risks being remembered not as the leader who fought corruption, but as the one who cried wolf while corruption thrived under his very nose.”