#Stolen.. Let me start by thanking the organizers of this occasion. Av sat for a few minutes and av been thoroughly moved. Av used the occasion to send a number of messages to my colleagues in Kenya that a powerful thing is going on in Uganda, and in the fullness of time we Kenyans and I hop East Africans must embrace what is happening in Uganda. Corruption is something that we talk about, it is something that we complain about, it is something whose negative impacts we recognize, it is something that even the corrupt a knowledge is a bad thing! But the irony & the tragedy at once is that those who engage in corruption love it, the tragedy at once is that those of us who do not engage in it directly.. accommodate it. Our level of tolerance for corruption in Africa is amazing! Long time ago a great Greek philosopher said that it is in the nature of mind to hung the small thieves and to elect the great ones into public office. We do that in Uganda, we do that in Kenya, we do that in Tanzania we do that in Africa.. And that is why Africa remains the poorest continent on earth. I was this morning rereading a book which I recommend to you. A book written by young Zambian economist called Dambisa Moyo, the book called Dead Aid. And in the introduction in that book there is a note which was found in the bodies of two young Guineans who died while trying to run away from Africa. Not so long ago, about 4 weeks ro be exact, 300 young Africans drowned in the Mediterranean Sea in Lempadusa because they were running away from Africa. Not so long ago about 3 weeks to be exact another group of young Africans drowned next to the Island of Malta because they were running away from Africa. When you look at Africa today, whether you are looking at Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria or indeed any country in Africa.. Our richest men & women are the men & women who occupy public office. We are in the business of celebrating thieves and vilifying good men and and women. That is the tragedy of Africa! While every other continent in the recent past has moved towards the right direction, Africa still lives in the words of Tonny Blair as the scar in the conscience of humanity. We live in a continent today where we claim that agriculture is the backbone of our economy but we do not use technology in production of crops. We live in a country & countries today where our leaders who preside over the health sector have no faith in the health sector. When they are sick & their families are sick, they run away to seek treatment in Germany, in France, in the United Kingdom, in South Africa and India. Even our health ministers dont have faith in the health sector. They bring unto us what they call free education or free primary education but they can never dare take their children to those schools! We live in a country and countries today where as the young man has said, our young women upon attaining puberty cannot afford sanitary pads while our public servants have iPads which they do not know how to use. We live in a continent today where our leaders will energetically seek to amend the Rome Statute while there is war in Mali, while there is war in Mauritania, while there is no peace in Somalia, while there is no rest in Eritrea.. Africa is a tragic continent! I had the privilege of serving as the Director of the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission. But it was like I did not understand my brief well. Upon being appointed I assumed that my mandate was to go out there and fight the corrupt but the truth was that I was not supposed to fight corruption, I was supposed to appear to be fighting corruption. When I started fighting corruption the Parliamenterians in their wisdom and in my own view their lack of wisdom used an occasion of the ammendment of the law to disband the organisation and to send myself and my 4 Directors out of office. The history of anti corruption crusaders in Africa is one and the same; their mortality rate in office is very short. Before I was victimized.. Before my victimization Nur Ivatu before me had been victimized in Nigeria. Before I was victimized Makathi had been victimized in South Africa and his Scorpions disbanded. Before I was victimized my equivalent in Zambia has been victimized, before I was victimized my equivalent in Malawi had been victimized. It would appear that in Africa if you serve your full term in office it is because you have refused to fight corruption. So what must we do going forward? It gives me great joy that you Ugandans have decided to move towards the right direction. You have decided today through the commencement of the caravan, to move from the comforts of Hotels in Kampala, to go into Karamoja land, to go into Gulu, to go into Teso, to go into Hoima, to go into Kasese, to go into Mutukula, to go into all coners of Uganda.. So that the conscience of the Ugandans can be reawakenned. So that they may realize that corruption is a cancer that must not be allowed to grow. Continue reading... One word for my mentor @ the School of Public Speaking & Oratorical Excellence.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 08:33:48 +0000
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