Keep politics off anti-corruption war, says Ruto

Deputy President William Ruto yesterday said he would respect and fully fund State organs mandated to fight corruption if elected president in the August 9 General-Election.

He said the politicisation of corruption in the country has worked against the fight since the purge has targeted people from one side of the political divide.

He said if elected, he would allow the Judiciary, the Inspector General of Police, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to operate without interference of the State.

“The war on corruption is a lost course, it has metamorphosed to a personal war and State organs mandated to fight the vice have been weakened,” Ruto said during a meeting with civil societies.

The Deputy President said the fight against corruption should not be politicised and those culpable should answer for their crimes, including the president and his deputy.

“We must not personalise or politicise corruption. We must deal with it from an institutional space so that everyone including the president is held to account. The fight against corruption hasn’t gone any far because it’s directed by somebody from somewhere,” he said.

The DP assured the civil society that the Kenya Kwanza government, if elected, would operationalise the Judiciary Fund and ensure that it is accorded the support it requires both financially and materially.

He lamented that while the judiciary was expected to take the lead in the fight against graft, its budgetary allocation had been reduced as a way of slowing it from fulfilling its mandate.

“While the Constitution requires that 2.5 per cent of the budget be allocated to the Judiciary, only 0.7 per cent was allocated in the current budget,” Ruto noted.

He added: “Why hasn’t the Judiciary Fund been operationalised? It’s because there are people who want to continue pulling strings around the Judiciary.”

The Kenya Kwanza Alliance presidential candidate said he would immediately after taking office appoint the six judges that President Uhuru Kenyatta refused to approve. The six judges are Aggrey Muchelule, George Odunga, Weldon Korir and Joel Ngugi, Judith Omange and Chief magistrate Evans Makori who were to serve in the Appellate court.

“Failure by the appointing authority to appoint the six judges was personalized and a blatant interference of independent institution powers,” Ruto said.

Ruto observed: “Like the six judges who haven’t been appointed. Why? I would appoint the judges on day one and give everyone the capacity to serve.”

Ruto assured that his administration will build and empower independent institutions that are charged with the fight against corruption. “The institutions must be strong enough to deal with everybody and we will be held accountable for that. We have to deal with state capture and conflict of interest,” he said. “We must stop the fight with the Judiciary. I have said that it doesn’t matter whoever is nominated by Judicial Service Commission. They don’t have to be my friend. I don’t have to like them. If they have passed the interview and they have gone through the process, they must be given chance to serve,” said Ruto.

The Deputy President said that for instance, Kenya has been unable to go after the Covid-19 billionaires who are behind the KEMSA scandal because they are related to those ‘who claim to be in charge of the graft war’.

“Corruption thrives around patronage, and patronage is a benefactor of conflict of interest, and this takes us to State Capture,” said the second in command.

And addressing the Nairobi County Economic Forum at the Ngong’ Racecourse, Ruto said that the Kenya Kwanza alliance was alive to the challenges that small-scale traders such as  Mama Mboga, Taxi/Matatu operators, hawkers, Boda Boda, among others, in Nairobi go through to put food on the table. “Kenya Kwanza will deliberately place these entrepreneurs at the centre of its decision-making table to drive policies that will protect and stimulate their growth, hence boost their income,” he told the meeting.

Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi told the forum that the multiple taxes paid by these traders just like others across the country affect their income a great deal.

“The Kenya Kwanza administration will engage the county governments and ensure we have a single levy permit to make businesses easy to operate and traders get meaningful returns,” Mudavadi said.

He added that the provision of working amenities; sewer system, street lighting, and water, for the people of Nairobi is a must, and Kenya Kwanza will deliver as promised.