IMPUNITY MAKES STRIDES IN KENYA

The headline in one Daily Newspaper in Kenya reads, "Kenya Wins Round 1". This is after the AU Ministers meeting in Addis voted in favour of Kenya’s quest to defer the ICC prosecutions for the six individuals who have been named as bearing the greatest responsibility in the post election violence that rocked the nation after the bungled 2007 presidential elections. This is a not so correct headline considering this has been as a result of the efforts of one side of the ruling coalition. The question that all Kenyans should be asking is what did we win? As far as I am concerned the win was only for the six and the headline should thus have read “Ocampo Six Win Round 1” or better still “Impunity in Kenya Wins Round 1”.

DEAL WITH CASES OF CORRUPTION DECISIVELY

An American professor opined that corruption has a considerable effect on our lives because it is all around us. He continued to say that the emphasis on getting rich, no matter how, is so tremendous that it influences virtually every aspect of the society. This desire to get rich is driven by greed; the greed for money, greed for property and greed for wealth. That is why people will go to all extremes to acquire any piece of land or any other property they come across regardless of who it belongs to. These land grabbers have not spared our forests too. The forest cover has been depleted so low that even areas that never used to experience drought are now experiencing it. It is common knowledge that our forests have been destroyed by the same people who are supposed to be championing for our rights; either by allocating themselves pieces of land in the forest or by displacing the poor from their land and driving them into the forest lands. People have become so materialistic that they would even kill their kin just to get a bigger portion of property than what they rightly deserve. It is this same greed that is carried into our institutions. Our forests, our road reserves and land meant for public amenities have all been lost in the frenzy to amass wealth.