President Wiliam Ruto has vowed to take the war on
corruption to the next level, promising to crush graft cartels and their lords
swiftly and ruthlessly.
The President, who has come under pressure for allegedly condoning corruption in his government, said he will, going forward confront the dragon head-on.
"Of the many difficult assignments I have undertaken, this fight against corruption is one I now take on with resolve going forward,'' Ruto said in his State of The Nation Address.
The President warned government officials that he had launched a ruthless crackdown against corrupt elements both in his administration and outside to save the country from going down the drain.
"Let this serve as notice to all. Independent institutions charged with this responsibility must up their game, pull up their socks and match up to the expectations of the people of Kenya,'' Ruto said.
The president's tough talk comes against the backdrop of criticism from the country's clergy who last week called his administration out for unbridled corruption.
Ruto said that because corruption is a serious risk to social justice, sustainable development, national security, and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, he will be seeking a multi-agency approach.
"I am harnessing our working relationship with other arms of government to encourage the Judiciary and Parliament to enhance integrity and efficiency by adopting digitisation and automation,'' he said.
"As I do so, I must caution that all these measures will only achieve intended results if, and only if, the institutions charged with combating corruption and promoting efficiency and integrity stop hiding behind the transparent screen of independence and rise to meet the people's expectations on matters integrity."'
He said that it cannot be the case that the director of public prosecutions keeps dropping cases because, somehow, they are unable to produce witnesses.
"It also cannot be the case that corruption suspects rush to court to obtain anticipatory bail, which shields them from due process and enables them to compromise investigations. There is also no reason for corruption cases to drag on in our courts for years when the same courts can determine election petitions and related disputes within six months,'' he said.
