President Uhuru Kenyatta has said the war on corruption won’t be guided by vigilante justice and protests. Speaking during the State of the Nation address, President Kenyatta said the law will be followed throughout the process. His setiment comes after calls for a tougher stance on corrupt leaders and convictions with Kenyans calling for the dismissal of leaders linked to graft scandals. “I must, however, caution that the pursuit of the corrupt will be undertaken strictly within the remits of the law-and not through vigilante justice and pitchfork protest. Though media narratives rally our resove as they should, our actions wil not be based on condemnation before one has been heard.” He acknowledged the fact that he has been under pressure to sack leaders, a statement which ilicited excitement in parliament.
However, he said he will remove anyone from his government who has a case to answer before the court. The Head of State said there are no sacred cows in the war on corruption and affirmed his certainty to win. He repeated calls to the Judiciary to play their role in tackling corruption, saying Kenyans are waiting to see more convictions and far less cynical exploitation of Court processes to protect the guilty.
He said parliament should also seek to selflessly serve in public trust instead of the pursuit of self-interest. Following a proposal by Kihara MP Ndidi Nyoro to have the powers of the DPP trimmed, President Kenyatta said the agencies should be strengthened and not weakened in order to safeguard the achieved outcomess in the corruption war.
