By Anderson Ojwang
For the first time, the country is in agreement and is speaking with one voice. From the president, legislators, opposition and the public. The ogre about rampant and runaway corruption, that is eroding the country’s basic fibre.
The fibre that held the nation together, when gallant heroes and heroines as they fought against colonialism to liberate Kenya to independence.
The country is moving from a state of denial to acceptance in a bid to heal the nation and decidedly tackle the ogre of corruption that has caused havoc from the Parliament, to Judiciary, Public Service and the Executive.
President William Ruto during the recent Devolution Conference in Homa Bay and ODM-Kenya Kwanza parliamentary group meeting claimed the legislature was breeding corruption by demanding bribes from Cabinet Secretaries and Governors.
He said the bicameral Parliament has turned the House Committees into money-minting rings and is ignoring their oversight responsibilities.
“There is something going on in our legislature that we must call out. There is money being demanded from the executives and governors, from ministers, and from people in the executives especially for those who go for accountability before our house committees in the parliament.
It cannot continue to be business as usual, it is not possible that committees of parliament demand to be bribed and paid for them to write reports or to look the other way for what is happening in the national government or the county government.
I have made it absolutely clear to the chair of the Anti-Corruption Commission and to the CEO that there will be no sacred cows and there will be no telephone calls anywhere below or above to stop anybody from being prosecuted for matters of corruption.
Somebody who has stolen public funds and then goes to court and then gets anticipatory bail. This makes it impossible for such a person to be arrested and prosecuted,” he said.
Equally, Ruto during the parliamentary group meeting said MPs soliciting for bribes will be arrested and prosecuted.
“What is the job of chair of welfare in the committees? What is the job? Extortion and that is what the Prime Minister Raila Odinga was saying. You know what is Soko Uhuru. Tell me. You know Soko Uhuru. The latest Soko Uhuru in the Senate, because you have to accept, because by the virtue of the position I hold today, I am a consumer of raw intelligence. I know what is going on. Where does somebody find sh 150 m? Is that his money? That is money that belongs to the country.
Let me ask you for example members of the parliament seated here, do you for example know that a few members of your committee collected sh 10 m so that they could pass the law on anti-money laundering. Did you get the money? So going forward, there are people who are destroying the credibility of parliament and they are collecting money in the name of parliament.
And some of the time that money never gets to parliament but it gets to a few people. We are not going to shame them but we are going to arrest them. Do we agree?”
Raila said “the issue of extortion is real. Every committee has got a member who is the welfare chairperson, this is giving a bad image of the parliament. Members of the parliament should not be soliciting bribes from the executives. The environment we are creating in this country is very hostile to investments. Foreign investors who come into the country bring their resources to invest it here. And when they bring their resources and find there is too much bureaucracy and there is too much extortion. They run away. Private capital is risk-shy.
We need to slay this animal called corruption. Corruption in the judiciary, legislature and the executive, in the media, and private sector,”.
Senator Moses Kajwang said at the conference that they have to hold the executive to account and that parliament was not a branch of the executive.
Manyatta Member of Parliament Gitonga Mukunji accused Ruto of hypocrisy in labelling Parliament as a den of corruption.
MP Mukunji, however, alleges that the executive itself has been complicit in bribing lawmakers to advance its interests.
Mukunji claimed that during the controversial 2024 Finance Bill debate, President Ruto’s administration used financial incentives to pressure legislators into passing the bill.
Mukunji argued that President Ruto cannot distance himself from corruption, which he says is deeply entrenched in Parliament.
He urged fellow lawmakers to uphold their constitutional oversight role, warning that colluding with the executive for financial gain or favours erodes public trust and undermines their credibility.
“It is a shame that the President is saying that, whereas every time there’s a bill that is against the people, he’s the first person to offer those bribes, ili vitu zake ziende vile anataka,” said the legislator.
“Tumepitisha bills za kuongeza ushuru, sai kila mtu hapa ako na payslip analia – courtesy of those bribes that happen in the National Assembly. Tumepitisha hata Finance Bill, ile ilikuwa imeambiwa na wananchi hawataki – courtesy of those bribes. So let us be genuine when we’re doing leadership.”
