LSK's Balala is irked by corruption

GRAFT

FEBRUARY 18, 2010

BY EUGENE OMILO

 LSK Mombasa branch chairman Mohammed Balala has broken his long silence on public issues and urged civil society groups to stage up a big war to corruption as the vice threatens to tear apart the country.

Balala said Kenyans are in a sad state since the main institutions charged with addressing the ill, the police force and the judiciary , are ridden with unethical practices.

While speaking at the Baluchi hall in Mombasa on Tuesday during the launch of a citizen monitoring report by civil society groups, Balala said the situation has left a big question on the mind of many as to whether the vice should be fought from the top to the bottom or vice versa.

The report which was released after a joint survey by Pwani Coalition for Good Governance and Transparency International showed that corruption is still deeply rooted in public service delivery institutions responsible for providing key social services.

TI’s Christine Kipsang who presented the report said most public officers often ask for bribes but no disciplinary action is taken when the same is reported to their superiors in accordance with the Public Officers’ Ethics Act.

The report showed most disgruntled service seekers (66 per cent) seek redress from the corrupt officers’ superiors while 17 per cent complain to the public ombudsman.

Those who choose to lodge the complains to the police are a paltry seven per cent indicating the little confidence the people have on the police to address corruption cases, the report concludes.

“We do not know whether to blame our leaders in top positions or the ordinary citizens who entice public servants with bribes,” said Balala.

“The situation has been made worse by the fact that the police and the justice system on which Kenyans depend on for justice are also corrupt,” he added.

He said there is need for the war on corruption to move from the boardrooms and seminars to the masses that are the most affected.

“Civil groups should now focus on educating people not to mix politics or tribalism with corruption because there is a tendency where people are ready to defend a leader implicated in a scandal because they belong to the same ethnic community,” urged Balala.

He said many people implicated in major financial scandals get away with their cases after bribing their way to freedom using their loot through the very justice system that is supposed to protect public property.

ENDS…