THE KENYAN INTEGRITY ROT!

Integrity by office holders, both elected and appointees has become the latest yardstick for determining suitability of candidates, thanks to the new constitution. The integrity clause that the new law has introduced has literally the country into a swirl state. Politicians and all leaders in public officers have never been under such pressure to exercise integrity and uphold it. This is a stark contrast from the yesteryears where integrity was the preserve of the willing, those naturally used to the integrity-driven way of life! Integrity was simply a faux-pas.

The scrutiny of the integrity lens has shattered the dreams and careers of senior civil servants. Politicians are next in the casualty line! One wonders just how our leadership of the past 49 years had literally pushed integrity to the back foot. Perhaps it explains why our national leadership has delivered mega-scandals; looting of the public coffers and unmatched lust for misappropriating money, yet the culprits hang onto office. Political witch-hunt and apparent tribal decimation are the potent tactics of defense that the suspects use. This is how suspects of Grand-Regency, Anglo-leasing, Goldenberg, Kazi kwa Vijana and Free primary education scandals among others are still in office and command a near fanatical tribal and ethnic following. These guys promise us heaven while they are so sure that hell is what they give the ordinary Kenyan. But is this rot only from the leadership side? No, I do not think that is the case. On the contrary, it is a rot by the Kenyan society. A people who have lost respect for morals and values, yet demand morally correct leadership!

We expect so much from our politicians, as though they come from a different planet! These men and women are our dads, mums, uncles and aunts.  They are victims of the societal rot. University students use mwakenya’s in exam rooms, cause mayhem, vandalize business premises and stone innocent motorists under the guise of strikes. These are the same students who call for responsible and exemplary leadership from our legislators. Whenever honorable law-makers throw stones and engage in some primitive theatrics, these students come out guns blazing, united in condemnation of the culprits!  Is this the double-faced society that Kenya has become?

The Kenyan roads are not different either. Motorists bribe cops to buy their way out of traffic offences. Motorists no longer heed common-sense calls meant to ensure their safety. This explains why warnings such as Do not Drink and Drive have been relegated to the gutter. Kenyans completely drink out their senses yet take to the wheel and drive their way to the grave. It literally takes the government to save the lives of these Kenyans, who apparently care less about their own lives! Kenya is indeed the ushenzi society!

Corruption is a deeply rooted vice that represents the real face of the Kenyan society. It is the incurable ailment. Kenyans engage in corrupt dealings every other day. Kitu kidogo and chai are the fees that determine how services are delivered. However, whenever, one solicits for these bribes in bigger offices, Kenyans cry foul and decry the corrupt offices.

Votes are traded for money. Unruly youths are given some few coins and cheap brews, just to cause chaos at political rallies. The country is balkanized along tribal and ethnic lines, yet we flock churches to pray for peaceful elections. Politicians and ordinary Kenyans alike, dance with the devil at night and shake hands with God’s angels during the day. This is the double face that our society has become. A society of double standards where justice to the poor and marginalized is still a distant cry!

However, we not yet doomed as a nation. We have a minority people who are spearheading change and reform in the entire society, both in small and big ways. These are the people who need our unwavering support for the well-being of our society.

 We need to grow up as a nation before we demand for grown-up leadership.