A legacy of Corruption: 5.3 Trillion Shillings Allegedly Stolen Since 2013 Under the UhuRuto administration

The ability to establish, grow, extend, and restore trust is the key professional and personal competency of our time. Integrity has been the Achilles of this administration and it is like they really do not care about that concept.

Leadership is about empowering your people to be better than they were yesterday in terms of living standards, access to education and healthcare, disposal income, savings, and governance. This is a basic tenet of leadership.

Kenya is a country that is blessed with abundant resources and a people with resilient character and hope beyond my own understanding. During the 2013 elections, we were excited with the UhuRuto team because we thought since they are young, they are digital, they are hip, they will be able to deliver on what Kenyans needed. Their manifesto was ambitious and personally, I was giddy and excited about it. I genuinely believed that Kenya will change.

I believed that their manifesto would form the best foundation for a legacy that would see an equal distribution of national resources, especially with the devolution aspect. Well, now I sit here with eggs on my face, reeking of rotten yolk. Wondering what went wrong.

The legacy that seems to be solidifying and showing is one of corruption. A legacy that has robbed the ordinary citizens of their justice, fairness, livelihoods, better services, access to better healthcare systems and much more and all we keep hearing is… ‘mnataka nifanye nini…’ which honestly shows that this administration has no clue on what leadership is all about.

We have watched an administration that has an affinity to rewarding mediocrity and incompetence oversee the blatant theft of public resources with no consequence, whatsoever to those involved. We have seen people’s lives become poor and more difficult as the digital duo’s lives and businesses improve and thrive. I am not being petty. I am not being malicious. All I want is an honest conversation on this administration and cancer that is corruption.

A self-absorbed leadership; enriching themselves at the expense of us

Leadership is about ensuring your people are thriving better, each fiscal year, not your own business and that of your family.

Unfortunately, if you research in the media, you will see that Deputy President Ruto has been doing very well in terms of his personal wealth growing in leaps and bounds and yes, we can all agree that indeed he is an astute businessman but what has he invented or discovered and developed that would make him so wealthy and powerful?

We have seen the President’s family business thrive beyond any other business in the region. Yet, when you compare to the average growth rate of any sound and growing business, the growth rates do not match.

When you look at how the country has been growing, we have only been growing in debts and more debts. The macroeconomic aspect of the country is in the doldrums and businesses are struggling, most are downsizing, some have closed shop and the rest have been auctioned.

One wonders, is this leadership all about empowering itself and letting the people struggle and scramble for the bread crumbs? The dailies are full of people and businesses being auctioned. Yet we say the economy is growing. I believe its only growing for the two leaders and those connected to them because the rest of us are suffering.

I believe why Kenyans cannot fathom the blatant theft is because of the crazy amounts being quoted all over. Few of us have ever touched 100,000 and more.

We cannot conceptualize what a million is. We are used to a few hundred, surviving from hand to mouth as we dodge the county government askaris and the bribing the police to enable us to carry on. Now imagine telling us that 90 billion shillings worth of tenders has been misappropriated in a certain ministry, how many will believe. We will spend the whole year just trying to count and see how someone can steal such and where will they store the amounts?

We are having a problem processing the amounts stolen. We have a problem processing the wealth we seeing on the roads in form of high-end cars and in the real estate in form of beautiful palatial homes. We have a processing the fact that this administration, on the backs, the sweat, the blood, and guts of youth could oversee such grandiose kind of theft and no one is held culpable. We have a problem processing all this information.

Are we slaves to the administration were connected and the politically correct get to eat and eat without due regard to the mood of the nation and when we complain, they plan to raise more taxes?

Do you know how much has been allegedly stolen and I use the term allegedly cautiously because no one has been charged with a single economic crime against the people of Kenya, hence, cases simple varnish with the said amounts.

Someone steals from her employers, millions. Charged in court, bribes her way through and a couple of years down the road, she is a motivational speaker on how she built her business empire. Imagine that scenario. Now, what of those who are looting billions?

Scandals: No one has been prosecuted or the money recovered

Without bias, without emotion or political motive. Let us look the reported scandals in the media since UhuRuto came to power and tabulate the estimate of lost public resources.

Maybe then, we can wake up and seriously demand better accountability and justice to those who have abused their office and broken the trust we have bestowed in them to manage the resources for us.

Amounts

The scandals, alleged, true or otherwise were reported in the media, by us and other platforms but nothing came out of them. How many are true and how many are not. Be the judge if you can fathom and internalize the amounts involved;

2013

1. Patni Shops saga – 11 billion
2. DP Ruto luxury jet hire- 100 million
3. NCPB scandal -561 million

2014

4. School laptop tender canceled by the board- it cost 24.6 billion
5. Safaricom facing MPs over security contract worth 15 billion ( The cameras that have never worked)

2015

6. Osero, the man behind Weston -51 billion
7. Karen land saga- 8 billion
8. NSSF gifted EACC officials with houses-2.6 billion
9. 6 GDC managers sent on leave over graft probe-1.7 billion
10. MPs wanting Galana project suspended- 7.29 billion

2016

11. Counties yet to receive medical equipment -38 billion
12. Evans Kidero in graft probe-202 million
13. EACC clearing Waiguru in 791 million scandal
14. Youth fund boss resigns ahead of 180 million scandal
15. Mismanagement in Rio by officials- 88 million
16. Eurobond 215 billion unaccounted for
17. NSSF lost 1.6 billion in shares scandal
18. Uhuru kin linked to 5 billion Mafia house scandal
19. 18 billion graft scandal in Kilifi
20. Suspicious bank accounts in Mombasa yet to be closed -193 million
21. Nairobi under Kidero yet to account for 20 billion

2017

22. Kenya-Somali border wall turns out to be barbed wire-20 billion
23. American Congress to block aircraft sale to Kenya- aircraft was worth 41 billion
24. Collapsed Imperial bank depositors demand payment-34 billion
25. Agriculture House team hit by scandal of 60 million
26. NCPB CEO resigns and managers sent home over 1.98 billion maize scandal
27. NASA links William Ruto to Masai Mara scam- 3 billion

2018

28. Bungoma Wheelbarrow procurement- 1.09 million
29. KAA airport deals-15 billion
30. Defective military aircraft uncovered by Ouko- 1.5 billion
31. Ouko uncovers 11 billion hole at Health ministry
32. 9 billion NYS scandal
33. NSSF to lose Hazina towers in 11.5 billion project
34. City hall fails to account for 238 million parking fees
35. Ouko names firms looting in billions- 40 billion
36. Ruaraka landowner offers to refund 1.5 billion in property
37. Kenya power firing staff over suspicion in corruption- 200 million
38. Kenya pipeline scandal 647 million
39. Timber mafia walks away with Uhuru’s 2 billion

Recovered Funds: A meager 3 Billion has been recovered

The EACC and the duo gentlemen have been bragging of recovering 3B of the stolen money. One wonders if these recovered funds are from the 2013 to date era or the Kibaki or Moi era. A lot of information is withheld, making it easier for looters to manipulate the data. h

These amounts are not cast in stone. This is what has been reported in various media outlets over time. Can your mind fathom these amounts? One is left wondering, isn’t the auditor report meant to be enough in terms of such matters to showcase that money has been lost? What more evidence is needed? A lot more is unaccounted for, especially in the county units and this is where the worry should be. Everyone is looting and no one is taking responsibility.

This is indeed a legacy of corruption and the two leaders need to take responsibility for being unable to tame runaway corruption that has crippled this country. At the end of the day, you be the judge and assess, are we where we need to be as a country?