Supreme Judge Justice Smokin Wanjala and Narc-Kenya leader Martha Karua clashed at Kabarak University in Nakuru over the war on corruption.
The two had been invited by the institution to address the university’s Law School International Conference on Corruption whose theme was ‘The war on corruption and the rule of law’.
Whereas Dr Wanjala asked the public to intensify their efforts in the war, Ms Karua, a former Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister, blamed the Judiciary for failing to act on high profile graft cases.
She said that this was making theft of public funds and engagement in economic crimes fashionable.
PUBLIC EDUCATION
Justice Wanjala said for the country to be free of graft, the rule of law and public education remain key to address the problem.
“In order to fight corruption, we must embed the rule of law,” he said.
Dr Wanjala said corruption had reached a destructive level in the country and has deprived Kenyans of basics like good health, food security and proper health care.
” Kenyans must wage a total war on graft because the vice is a complex conspiracy. The country needs a sophisticated system to fight graft, ” he said.
Dr Wanjala said one of the public sectors currently experiencing many cases of corruption is the public procurement.
“The laws in public procurement are clear but they have been flouted on several occasions. For example, what is the need to have a middleman for the purchase of government arsenal? These provide room for graft,” he said.
Dr Wanjala further called for spirited campaign including public education and sensitisation on the effects of corruption.
SOLIDARITY
“There is need to create a public solidarity in fighting the menace. Whistle blowing also remains a critical tool in addressing corruption, ” he said.
He also called for the repossession of all public assets that acquired through graft.
“Jailing corrupt people is not a solution. Their assets that were illicitly received must be repossessed,” he added.
But Ms Karua, who spoke in the afternoon session, criticised the Judiciary.
“We must be sincere in upholding the rule of law. Sometimes the law is being applied selectively depending on the suspect’s social status,” she said.
Ms Karua claimed that the Judiciary gives preferential treatment for serious economic crimes and this make stealing look fashionable.
She added: “Many high profile cases come in with a lot of force at the Judiciary but they are soon forgotten. Why can’t the judiciary clear those cases in time?
FASHIONABLE
Corruption is almost fashionable in Kenya. If we see a corrupt person, we speak about it and then forget. The war on corruption cannot be won on prosecution alone, but also by a change of culture,” she said.
Mr Mwaniki Gachoka, a commissioner with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) agreed that the organisation was facing a lot of challenges in the war on corruption.
He said the anti-graft agency was facing a shortage of its investigators.
“At the EACC, we receive about 6,000 complaints every year, but we only have 200 investigators. Our budgetary allocation is Sh3 billion which is low. These challenges make it difficult for us to act in time when we receive cases,” he said.
Mr Gachoka however said the EACC cleared about 248 cases by last year and files were forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecution for action.