Raila and Corruption : Thirsting for Justice

Parliament will most certainly reject the Mututho Report linking Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s family to maize scandal; but doing so will be a terrible mistake. It will deny the country an opportunity to seek the truth about disgraceful corrupt activities, which have seen the disappearance of the nation’s staple food, making millions face the threat of starvation while a few greedy people fatten their bank accounts.

According to the media reports, Mututho does not say Raila’s son, whom the journalists have so far protected and has therefore remained nameless, is guilty of corruption. All he says is that the Premier’s son should be investigated. That statement, coming form a Parliamentary committee, obviously stigmatizes the entire Raila family, and he should have been among the first people to call for a thorough investigation on the matter to exonerate and sanitize both his son and his family. Instead he has politicized the issue and accused the Mututho Committee of tarnishing his name.

That accusation by the Prime Minister will be strongly supported by the ODM MPs who constitute the majority in the Legislature. Naturally the PNU MPs will take the opposite stand for reasons that are less than genuine. These lots are still very bitter because they feel the Marende ruling hit below the belt in favour of Raila and his team. When the debate on Mututho’s report starts in Parliament it will be one of the hottest that will expose the underbelly of our Parliamentarians and their many weakness which include tribal groupings. Dirty linens will be washed before the eyes of the entire nation.

Yet Raila will have the final word in this matter. He will have an opportunity to show his statesmanship by simply accepting the Mututho Report and calling for a thorough investigation of both himself and his entire family. That way he will prove to the entire world to have no skeletons in his cupboard. Rejecting the Mututho Report will be seen as sweeping the whole matter under the carpet and keeping the truth away from the people. If Raila decides to do that he will join the rest of African leaders including Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi and may be even Mwai Kibaki who all became multi millionaires after becoming Presidents of Kenya.

The move will also disappoint a lot of Kenyans who still see Raila as the only salvation to the many ills that face this nation. Few of them can imagine him involved in any corrupt activities against this nation. The big question is : Do the people have the same trust for every member of the Raila family? If ODM MPs really want to save Raila from this controversy then the only sensible step to take is to hand the matter to the best detectives this country has in order to expose the truth. Unfortunately it looks like Raila himself is campaigning for the rejection of the Mututho Report and his word will carry the day in Parliament.

So far Raila has dismissed the Mututho Report as another attempt to fight him politically because he happens to be the frontrunner for the 2012 presidential elections. Such dirty political intrigues will also be laid bare by a thorough probe in the whole matter. If Raila is exonerated then those who want to commit a bloodless political assassination will be exposed as traitors who are planning to deny Kenyans the opportunity to have a free choice in the next general elections.

While condemning the Mututho Report, the Prime Minister said he was as clean as cotton and may be a lot of people in Kenya believed him. What they may not believe is whether his nameless son is just as clean. Long before the whole maize scandal was made public by Mututho, Raila’s son’s name was mentioned in the ubiquitous rumour mills of the country.

Together with Raila’s son , names of sons of very important people were also mentioned. It is said the son is a frequent drinking mate of sons of other rich people who have acquired their wealth through corruption. At one time, it is said, they were involved in a road accident in the middle of the city at night after engaging in a racing match while driving extremely expensive cars. Compromised journalists ignored the story at that time as much as they are protecting the name of Raila’s son putting his father in trouble at this time.

Talking of journalists brings to mind the whole exercise of investigative journalism in this country. This is the missing gap in the profession which, if perfected, the whole maize scandal issue would have been solved very long time ago. Corrupt people in Kenya do their dirty deals knowing very well no one will expose them because both the police and journalists are paddling in the same canoe of bribery, corruption and dishonesty. If the Fourth Estate was doing its job properly it would have been extremely easy to know who, between Raila and Mututho, is right.

Besides Raila’s son the Mututho Report names quite a number of other people allegedly involved in the maize scandal which brings yet another question to mind. If Raila’s son is innocent, who is guilty of the serious crimes which have led this country into desperation and hunger? Why are the prices of unga still ridiculously so high that the ordinary mwananchi today regards eating ugali a luxury for the rich only? The issue of corruption cannot be reduced to a mere political game between Raila and his enemies. The people of Kenya know that corruption in high political offices exists and the evidence they have is in their empty stomachs.

Until such a time as when a very important man is charged with the corruption involving the maize scandal the people will not believe the Government is serious about ending corruption in this country. Now that Raila’s son’s name has been rightly or wrongly connected with corruption, Kenyans can be absolutely certain that the Prime Minister will hit back so hard by exposing even more important names involved in corruption. Vengeance will be the name of the game. The spectacle will be fascinating. But even more important than that, the people will be interested in witnessing justice not only being done, but manifestly seen to be done.