President Kenyatta’s Failures Give Moi Reason to Talk
Reason Moi Has to Talk
Former Kenyan Dictator Daniel Toroitich
Arap Moi does not, in my view, have pass to talk about corruption in Kenya. I
mean it is Moi; this is the same man who sank Kenya for 24 years. I think we
may give leave for many people to comment on and even abuse Kenyans about
corruption but not Moi. He is the father of corruption in this country. Part of
the problem that is Kenya is because of this man Moi. How dare he talk about corruption?
I think it is dis-respective, he should apologize. But hold on a minute;
failures by President Uhuru Kenyatta give Moi reason to talk. Can we then say that
perhaps the corruption witnessed in Kenya under Uhuru is worse than that
presided over by Moi himself. Imagine a situation where people steal until
thieves get concerned that the stealing is too much. That is how deep Kenya has
sunk as a country. According to recent survey by PriceWaterhouseCoopers
(PwC) Kenya
is the 3rd most corrupt country in the world after France and South
Africa. This could have given Moi reason to speak out about corruption in Kenya
despite him being the high priest of corruption.
Moi the Corrupt
Kenya and Kenyans should not forget the extent
of corruption perpetrated by the family of the former Kenyan leader Daniel Arap
Moi. The corrupt deals of Moi were exposed in a report in 2007 that laid bare a
web of shell companies, secret trusts and front-men that his entourage used to
funnel hundreds of millions of pounds into nearly 30 countries including
Britain. The 110-page report by the international risk consultancy Kroll,
alleges that relatives and associates of Mr Moi siphoned off more than £1bn
(Ksh 144 billion) of government money. It puts the Moi’s on a par with Africa's
other great kleptocrats, Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of
Congo) and Nigeria's Sani Abacha.
The assets accumulated included
multimillion pound properties in London, New York and South Africa, as well as
a 10,000-hectare ranch in Australia and bank accounts containing hundreds of
millions of pounds. The report, commissioned by the Kenyan government, was
submitted in 2004, but never acted upon. It details how: Mr Moi’s sons - Philip
and Gideon - were reported to be worth £384m (Ksh 55 Billion) and £550m (Ksh 79
billion) respectively; His associates colluded with Italian drug barons and
printed counterfeit money; His clique owned a bank in Belgium; The threat of
losing their wealth prompted threats of violence between Mr Moi's family and
his political aides; £4m was used to buy a home in Surrey and £2m to buy a flat
in Knightsbridge. The Kroll investigation into the former regime was
commissioned by President Mwai Kibaki shortly after he came to power on an
anti-corruption platform in 2003. It was meant to be the first step towards
recovering some of the money stolen during Mr Moi's 24-year rule, which earned
Kenya the reputation as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
The Corrupt Cannot Fight Corruption
Nothing happened about these revelations
because soon after the investigation was launched, Mr Kibaki's government was
caught up in its own scandal, known as Anglo Leasing, which involved awarding
huge government contracts to bogus companies. Kibaki’s regime was to be hit by
numerous other scandals perpetrated by the inner core of his administration consisting
of Mt. Kenya power brokers who came to be known as “Mt. Kenya Mafia.” Kibaki
attempted to try to indicate that he was trying to do something about
corruption but it was just about that; mere trying to indicate that he was
trying to do something about corruption. He did nothing. Since then, none of Mr Moi's relatives or
close allies has been prosecuted. It was hoped that the government after Kibaki
would do something about this menace but then it has come to pass that Uhuru’s administration
has presided over the level of corruption that even worries Moi himself.
President Kenyatta’s Failures Give Moi Reason to Talk
Reviewed by Ibrahim Magara
on
March 07, 2016
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