KAIKAI'S KICKER: Small fish, big fish-bottom-up graft war

In a decisive step on Wednesday, President William Ruto ordered the removal from the government payroll of names of forest officials he termed as, "Saboteurs who are encouraging the destruction of our environment."

The president then instructed the Environment Ministry to move in and clean up the KFS and earlier on Thursday, CS Soipan Tuya was at the forest service headquarters to implement the president’s order.

Now, the intention and speed of action at the KFS should be found commendable. That was bold, swift and decisive. If for nothing else, it sends a message to government departments that something can happen; wrongdoing can be disrupted and even punished.

It was also a good message to send to the over 2000 forest rangers who graduated in Gilgil on Wednesday. As they head out to protect the country’s little forest cover, they will be in no doubt that consequences can follow corrupt practices.

Elsewhere in the country, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) was parading its biggest catches of the week. First, there were four traffic police officers arrested for extorting money from motorists along the Thika – Garissa Highway. Then there was another fairly sizeable catch in Kisumu; an inspector of police was arrested for demanding a Ksh.500,000 bribe from a goods transporter.

In both cases, the EACC displayed photos of their catch, and in the case of the traffic police officers, crumpled notes in various denominations were literally at hand as evidence. Again, arresting bribe-taking police officers, just like cracking the whip on corrupt forest rangers is a most welcome action and should indeed be sustained.

But then as a country, we have to remember that corruption in Kenya is a game of categories. The one-time head of the anti-corruption authority Justice Aaron Ringera, rightly spoke of two categories – big fish, and small fish. Now, a lot has happened to the small fish this week.

From KFS to the traffic police roadblocks the waters are thoroughly troubled for the small fish this week. It is literally their week on the run; and for the anti-corruption fight, this is a good start.

But, just how effective will this bottom-up anti-corruption drive be? How far will it go? What happens to the big fish? What happens to the whales and the sharks that rule the waters of the Kenyan corruption deep sea? Will we see the big fish handcuffed like that police inspector in Kisumu?

Would we see the big fish hounded out of office even before any charges are preferred like the 23 Kenya Forest Service officers? Would we see cases against the big fish sustained in court to the end, without being dropped or without funny courtroom games with witnesses?

When that happens, please mark it for what it would be; the beginning of the war on corruption in Kenya.

Small fish, big fish.

That is my kicker