By Macharia Gaitho
A GOVERNMENT OF THIEVES, by thieves, for thieves: I was persuaded that is the unique Kenyan definition of the State on hearing about plans to spend billions from my pocket, and the pockets of other long-suffering taxpayers, to pay off those who looted and destroyed the Mau Forest.
The wealthy and powerful are rewarded for their crimes, while the weak and helpless are left to starve or sent to jail for small transgressions.
To those who have, more will be added: It is like we have turned on its head the biblical adage, so that instead of rewarding those who work hard and increase the national wealth, we reward those who specialise in increasing their personal wealth by stealing from the common pot.
Robin Hood, in reverse, stealing from the poor to give the rich.
The tragedy is that it is not just a small bunch of criminals behind these travesties, but the State, as an institution, that drives policies designed to multiply the fortunes of the haves while impoverishing the masses.
It is quite a while since I recalled the adage about one of those lawless, ex-Soviet kleptocracies described as a mafia with a country rather than merely a country with a mafia.
Kenya perfectly suits the bill. The mafia is not just the criminal gangs out there profiting from smuggling, extortion, murder and robbery while keeping a step ahead of the law. In Kenya the mafia runs the government.
That is why a small group of conspirators elected to serve the people can get together and plot how they can instead steal from the people.
When I first heard about the plan to pay the rich crooks who abused office to grab huge chunks of the Mau Forest for themselves, I almost threw up.
I just could not believe that we could be subject to such blatant displays of impunity.
I kept hoping against hope that it was all a big mistake; that an official statement would be speedily released disowning any such plans, attributing the reports, maybe, to misinformation by an individual Cabinet minister trying to pressure the government into paying his thieving friends.
The denial eventually coming from Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta and his Forestry counterpart Noah Wekesa was both belated and unconvincing.
And it should have indicated whether President Kibaki and Agriculture minister William Ruto denied having their own little agreement on the issue.
In the absence of a categorical statement, it appears the rationale is that there is a class of Mau Forest landowners who do have title deeds and therefore must be compensated.
THE LIST OF EXECUTIVE SQUATTERS includes ex-President Moi, his son Gideon, former State House Comptroller Franklin Bett (now a minister), former personal assistant Joshua Kulei, former Commissioner of Lands Sammy Mwaita and former PS for Internal Security Zakayo Cheruiyot (both now MPs) and former Co-operative Bank chairman and Baringo Kanu boss Hosea Kiplagat.
Should this lot be compensated, or be kicked out without ceremony and further charged with abuse of office? Should they be compensated or should they be invoiced for the damage caused to the Mau and the cost of rehabilitation?
The question we should be asking is not whether the Mau land-grabbers have title deeds, but whether those papers were legally and properly obtained.
Title deeds may, indeed, be sacrosanct, but are mere pieces of paper if obtained through corruption, fraud and abuse of office.
It should be clear, in any case, that where a public official misuses his office in pursuit of illegitimate personal profit, any related transactions are null and void.
What is being proposed is to reward looters and grabbers. It is like a gunman walking into the Central Bank and walking away with billions, and when caught, demanding to sell back the proceeds of the theft to the State.
It cannot be a legitimate government that gives in to such demands. Those striking the deals can only be pursuing personal profit, and should themselves be investigated.
Let us not be cheated that this is about humanitarian assistance to poor suffering evictees from the Mau or about just compensation for landless people who were allocated land in the area or innocent people who may have purchased from the original allottees.
This is about a bunch of powerful crooks who consider themselves entitled to loot, rob and steal because they are in government. Anyone involved in this crooked scheme must be forced to relinquish office.
mgaitho@nation.co.ke
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