SAM’S SENSE: Leadership and integrity chapter - What sense?

For 15 years now, Kenya has been governed under the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 –a document often invoked to win political and legal arguments. Ironically, it’s also one of the most abused tools by those in power. Time and again, courts have found authorities and institutions guilty of violating it, issuing countless rulings that highlight systemic unconstitutionality.

But there is one chapter in that Constitution that, back in 2010, was hailed as the nation’s moral compass. Chapter Six. The chapter on Leadership and Integrity.

For many state officers –who double as political leaders – this chapter has become more of an inconvenience than a guide. Just 800 words, written in plain English, spell out the standard of conduct expected from those in public office.

Article 73 of the Constitution declares that the “Authority of State Officers is a public trust to be exercised in a manner that demonstrates RESPECT TO THE PEOPLE, that brings HONOUR TO THE NATION and DIGNITY TO THE OFFICE.”

You’d think that someone bearing the title “Honorable” would carry themselves accordingly – with dignity and honor.

But then they film distasteful videos, review them, and decide to post them online, chasing likes, reposts and viral fame. And when criticism comes, they respond not with grace, but with an outburst of insults.

Article 73 (2) lays out the principles that should guide of leadership and integrity.

Leaders, it says, must act with objectivity and impartiality. Their decisions should never be driven by nepotism, favoritism, corrupt practices, or any other improper motives.

But then, we hear of allegations that government programmes, especially those flaunted on campaign trails, are just money-making schemes. Disguised as service to the people, that they are, in truth, self-serving deals.

According to the Constitution, leadership ought to be selfless service based solely on the public interest, which is demonstrated by honesty in the execution of public duties and more importantly, the declaration of any personal interest that may conflict with public duties.

Until you hear many political leaders celebrating to be “in government” simply because it gives them access to government deals, tenders and influence.

Remember how the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly turned political leaders and those politically connected into PPE suppliers? Rushing to cash in on a crisis that was costing lives? Billions were made, but at what human cost?

When leaders take their oath of office and swear to obey, respect, uphold, preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of Kenya, do they also read that, “Accountability to the public for decisions and actions taken” is one of the guiding principles of leadership and integrity?

And if they do read that line, what do they actually understand from it?

In the past two weeks alone, the nation has been bombarded with a flood of revelations, allegations, and accusations involving some of the highest offices in the land. And it’s hard to believe those voices are simply mad men shouting in the wind.

If those allegations are true—even just a small fraction—what would the leaders do if Chapter Six of the Constitution were read to them? What should they do?

What’s the point of having an entire constitutional chapter on leadership and integrity when those it’s meant to guide spend their nights scheming, brokering shady deals, and plotting how to get richer, more powerful, and harder to remove?

What’s the sense of a moral compass if it's only used as a prop?

That’s my sense tonight.