We will root out graft, says KACC boss

BY SIMON NDONG'A

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1/1 KACC Director PLO Lumumba/FILE NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 1 - The Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) has reiterated its commitment to go after any corrupt individuals irrespective of their position or social status. Speaking to CNN during an interview, Director Patrick Lumumba said every corrupt individual will have to face the full force of the law. He stated that KACC was well equipped and capable to deal with corruption at all levels of government institutions. "We as an organisation are in a position to put together credible evidence. If we were toothless we would not have taken up this job," he said. "We have the task of investigating individuals and I hold the view that these new institutions which are being re-energised have a very clear message from the Kenyan public that this time round you have got to do what you have got to do," he added. Prof Lumumba further expressed optimism that the war against corruption would be won in the near future. "If we hold this conversation next year, holding constant the enthusiasm and the energy that I see here today, I will be in a position to say behold, it has happened and the cynics have been let down and the country is moving forward," he affirmed. He further pointed out that the vetting of judges as enshrined in the new constitution would go a long way in reducing corruption. The anti-Graft czar said that for a long time, lethargy, incompetence, and outright corruption have bedeviled the judicial system and greatly hampered the dispensation of justice. Prof. Lumumba stressed that the vetting process would ensure a more efficient judiciary, as part of reforms that would propel the country to greater heights in the administration of justice. "We have had a judicial system in many years whose only claim to fame has been to sanitise individuals and that is why we become the first country in relative peace in post independent Africa to vet its entire judiciary because we realise it has not behaved as it should have," he said. The anti-corruption boss further pointed out that the fight against corruption begins with changing the mindset of Kenyans at an early age. "We must admit that you cannot have a country where the policeman on the beat, where the individual who visits a hospital, where the young person who attends school or the business person who is seeking a permit must pay certain undocumented moneys as a condition precedent to accessing those services," he said.