powers of the presidency – by far the biggest sticking point during the constitutional review debate – remain largely intact. While the president has remained largely above direct criticism on this matter, his circle of supporters has been criticised for perpetuating the KANU legacy of arbitrary and partisan appointments of individuals to public institutions. In Kenya, this has always been a sure route to accessing state largesse and personal capital accumulation. It is the president’s so-called ‘kitchen cabinet’ that is rumoured to be at the centre of many of the corruption scandals currently besieging the government.
Progress on the judiciary and repatriation of stolen assets Nevertheless, there is little doubt that many within the government are committed to the fight against corruption. There is no shortage of anti-corruption rhetoric, and the rhetoric has been backed by real action. Two cases in particular demonstrate this: the clean-up of the judiciary and the appointment of a permanent secretary for governance and ethics. One of the new government’s first popular victories came on the judicial front with the dismissal in February 2003 of the chief justice, Bernard Chunga. Chunga was viewed by many as one of the most cynical appointments made by former President Moi. During Chunga’s tenure, there was a huge backlog of cases and justice was up for sale as judges, magistrates and judicial officers were routinely bribed. Chunga’s replacement, Chief Justice Evans Gicheru, immediately ordered an inquiry into corruption in the judiciary. Released in September 2003, the report named 23 judges and 82 magistrates, all of whom were accused of participating in various acts of corruption and incompetence. All were given the option of either resigning or responding to the charges through a judicial tribunal. Most opted to resign, although, significantly, a number of judges have recently sued
the judiciary for wrongful termination of employment. Two judges opted to face tribunals, and the cases are ongoing. Public expectations of the new government’s commitment to fighting corruption were raised a notch higher by the appointment in January 2003 of John Githongo as the president’s special adviser on corruption. John Githongo, a prominent anti-corruption activist, was one of a number of civil society leaders from the preNARC era appointed to a senior position in government. His efforts since taking office have brought largely positive results. In 2003–04 his biggest achievement was to identify the location of US $1 billion stashed away in foreign accounts by individuals close to the Moi regime, though there had been no news of progress in recovering the funds at the time of writing. In addition, he stopped at least two irregular procurement deals before they went ahead.
Mixed results from the Goldenberg Commission While the new government has been unable to shake off criticisms that it is not doing enough to fight corruption within its ranks, it has taken major steps to deal with economic crimes of the past. In addition to the shake-up of the judiciary, another significant example has been the government’s handling of the Goldenberg case, the biggest financial scandal in Kenya’s history. Ten years ago, a young gold trader somehow convinced the government that there was enough gold in Kenya for export. As a result, parliament passed an export-compensation bill (in a single afternoon) exclusively for this purpose. It soon emerged that Kamlesh Pattni, the gold trader, was falsifying gold exports – actually not exporting gold at all – but still claiming export compensation. The Goldenberg scandal cost the country an estimated US $1 billion. One of the first actions of the new government was to set up a public tribunal to investigate the allegations. The Goldenberg
Country reports KENYA
GC2005 02 chap06 171
171
13/1/05 4:34:17 pm