Businessmen and leaders laud government for fight against corruption
The country is headed in the right direction and nothing should stop its bid to eradicate corruption that has been detrimental to its economic sustainability, businesspersons and leaders have said.
According to Thika District Business Association (TDBA) chairman Alfred Wanyoike, the landmark ruling in which Sirisia MP John Waluke and his co-accused Grace Wakhungu were sentenced to serve various years in jail with an alternative of hefty fines in the Sh314 million National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) maize scandal shows the seriousness of the reigning government in the fight against graft.
Wanyoike said that the judiciary, in the ruling set pace to discourage embezzlement of public funds which ought to have been channeled to better the livelihood of the common citizens.
Speaking in Thika town, Wanyoike urged politicians to keep off the fight against corruption and allow the relevant agencies to professionally prosecute cases to allow prevalence of justice.
He said that businesses have collapsed while others remain at the verge of sinking due to dominant corruption in various sectors of the economy.
“The corrupt people have made many Kenyans including businesspersons suffer great loss. We support what the government is doing and we want it to do more,” said Wanyoike.
His statement was echoed by Shaleen Wanjiru, another businessperson who intimated that sustained fight against corruption will restore hope for jobless youth; women and disabled persons who she said have been suffering at the expense of greedy criminals who have been misappropriating funds meant to create opportunities for them.
Wanjiru said that with arrest and sentencing of big fish involved in corruption activities, even those scheming to defraud the public will be discouraged and instead, prudent utilization of public funds will be allowed.
Thika MP Patrick Wainaina who has been pushing for amendment of law to make theft of public resources a capital offence has also supported the sentencing of his fellow parliamentarian.
Wainaina said unless the country welcomes a paradigm shift and discourages corruption activities, it will never scale up economically.
While lauding the hefty fine imposed on Waluke and his co-accused, Wainaina called on the judiciary to stand ground and refuse to be misused to overturn the ruling in case it is appealed.
“The sentencing of Waluke is a good sign that we can win the fight. I urge the president to gear up and jail more persons named in various corrupt activities and this way, we will have made a major stride,” he said.
He rooted for severe punishment of the corrupt by the judiciary to restore public confidence and save the country loss of billions that sink in the hands of the fraudulent persons every year
