Politics and Society
Corruption and tribalism: Kenya’s achilles heel
Government sources and critics have warned that corruption and tribalism are weighing down Kenya’s development and the country has become ‘a captured state’
Corruption and tribalism, deeply entrenched in the Kenyan society and government have been identified as the country’s achilles heel, holding back development.
According to The Standard, government sources and critics, Kenya has become “a captured state” managed from the periphery by shadowy characters working in cahoots with powerful mid-level bureaucrats who “move things” within the system.
President Obama and President Kenyatta during Obama’s latest visit to Kenya. Image: Reuters, Thomas Mukoya
Speaking to The Standard, Chief Justice Willy Mutunga said: “if the country, citizens and the political class, through moral conviction, ethical courage, and political resolve, do not in a principled and consistent manner rise up against corruption, then we risk having corruption as the fourth, if not, the only, arm of government in Kenya”.
Similarly, experts, social and political commentators have echoed similar sentiments, arguing that corruption, clientilism and tribalism continue to manifest is government structures. The experts have blamed lack of political will to adequately address these problems affecting the country.
Kenya’s economy continues to steadily grow, with a projected expansion of 6.5 percent this year, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB).
However, this growth is weighed down by corruption. During his state visit to Kenya in July, American President Barack Obama said, despite great potential, economic development is being held back by a pervasive culture of corruption and ethnic differences.
“A politics that’s based solely on tribe and ethnicity is a politics that’s doomed to tear a country apart. It is a failure; a failure of imagination,” Obama reportedly said, adding that corruption is, “an anchor that weighs you down”.
Source: The Standard
