A well known journalist and Anti-corruption crusader John Githongo, a former Permanent secretary for governance and Ethics in the administration of president Mwai Kibaki has famously been quoted for the words- Kenya has the conditions for a perfect storm. Run away corruption has fuelled over borrowing; austerity program; high cost of living;crop failure.
A state capture(a type of systemic political corruption in which private interests significantly influence a state’s decision-making processes to their own advantage) has been declared in Kenya following Kenya’s inability to fight corruption.
#KenyaStateCapture Things happening in Kenya pointing to a Perfect Storm
5. Crisis around elections
6. Global players in our political scene
7. Increased fragmentation within the elite@johngithongo pic.twitter.com/tIxhA7EavH— Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI) (@MUHURIkenya) May 22, 2019
Economist David Ndii has on numerous occasions illustrated that the Kenyatta family capture of the state.
David Ndii: Kenyattas capture is by enclosure of private business e.g. growing monopolisation of the milk sector through acquisition of competitors has increased profits by over 60% about 20B. #KenyaStateCapture #KenyattaCronyCapitalismStateCapture pic.twitter.com/0jlGjvuoQf
— Ciru Gikonyo (@GikonyoCiru) May 22, 2019
"Corruption has proved to be very difficult to fight intellectually." @DavidNdii on #KenyaStateCapture @SimekhaJME @TISAKenya @TIKenya @AfriCOG @theelephantinfo @NubianRights @thekhrc @johngithongo @Gladwellotieno pic.twitter.com/xyetREp4qd
— InformAction (@InformAction_KE) May 22, 2019
Three scandals have been tackled in the report launched by the Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG) an independent, non-profit making organisation with a mandate to provide cutting edge research on governance and public ethics issues and, monitor governance fundamentals in both the government and the private sector.
The scandals will be in history for knocking the nation’s economy hardest.
First of all in the Goldenberg scandal; the government was found to have subsidised exports of gold far beyond standard arrangements during the 1990s, by paying the company Goldenberg International 35% more (in Kenyan Shillings) than their foreign currency earnings.
Although it notionally appears that the scheme was intended to earn hard currency for the country, it is estimated to have cost Kenya the equivalent of more than 10% of the country’s annual Gross Domestic Product, and it is possible that no or minimal amounts of gold were actually exported.
The scandal appears to have involved political corruption at the highest levels of the government of Daniel Arap Moi. Officials in the former government of Mwai Kibaki have also been implicated.
On the other hand, the Anglo-Leasing scandal turned out to be the biggest scandal of the Kibaki era. It involved 8 fraudulently acquired procured security contracts some inherited from the Moi government and expanded.
The contracts were collectively worth over US $770 million( Ksh 55 billion) in which the government entered lease finance and “suppliers” credit agreements.
In reality the government was itself advancing the money for the contracts; the suppliers did no provide credit. The companies involved were found to be non -existent. The Kenyan Tax Payer was defrauded through irregular procurement, non-delivery of goods and services, massive overpricing of substandard goods.
So far despite some prosecutions no one has been prosecuted.
Less than a year after the election of president Uhuru Kenyatta in march 2013, came the Eurobond.
Currently the government has heightened war on graft but the life cycle of corruption continues to escalate as war on corruption hits the wall.
The life cycle of war on corruption
1. Headlines on scandal
2. Denial by state officials
3. Firery speeches by politicians high profile arrests.
4. Big headlines of arrests.
5. After 6 months cases are quietly dropped.
6. On to the next scandal -Wachira Maina #kenyastatecapture— Wallace Mwangi (@WallaceMwangi_) May 22, 2019