The Politics of Betrayal

Kenya’s reeling right now over the revelations in a new autobiography, The Politics of Betrayal:  Diary of a Kenyan Legislator, by Joe Khamisi, a former Member of Parliament (“MP”) during Kibaki’s first term as president in the early 2000’s.  Amazon Link  I don’t imagine he will run for office again.    

The Daily Nation is publishing major sections of the book as a “serialisation.”  Here are 10 points from the most recent excerpt that illustrate more of the political corruption I described in my blog yesterday.  (I promise that my next entry will be more up-beat.)

1.         Within weeks after Kibaki became president in 2002, the Parliament increased MPs’ salaries from 395,000 kes per month ($4708 at today’s conversion rate) to 485,000 kes ($5781) per month, half of it tax free.  The rationale in an economy where the average daily wage was less than $1 a day, was that “the job of a Member of Parliament is a selfless job for which no amount of money would be enough to compensate for the inconvenience, the risks and the both the job entails . . ..”

2.         In addition to the monthly payment, MPs received a 3.3 million kes car grant (about $40,000), a “sitting allowance” for each day they actually appeared in Parliament to do their job, and a “winding up” allowance of 1.5 million kes ($18,000) when their 5 year term ended.  With those payments, Kenyan MPs became some of the most highly paid legislators in Africa.

3.         The attendance sheet used to calculate the sitting allowances is maintained manually.  An MP could claim the sitting allowance as long as he showed up for even 5 minutes.  Others made arrangements for their staff to mark them in as present when they were not even in Nairobi. 

4.         In mid 2007, before the infamous election, truancy was so serious that no business could be conducted because the necessary quorum of 30 members – out of 222 – was not present.

5.         Every single committee of Parliament authorized overseas travel allowances for its members and their entourage, including the Catering Committee.  The favorite destinations were the U.S. and Europe.   During the first eight months of 2008 alone, the related additional cost was close to $1,500,000.

6.         In 2004, the taxpayers learned that they had been ”ripped off of hundreds of millions of shillings” when the government purchased a new building for its MPs and administrative offices in 1995 – the “Continental House.”  On March 31, 1995, the building was purchased by a company called Archway Holdings for 225 million shillings; the government bought it three months later for 465 million shillings, more than twice the purchase price.  The government then spent another 300 million shillings to renovate the building with a gym, sauna, Jacuzzi, salons, conference facilities and a roof-top restaurant, as well as customized towels and gowns for all 222 MPs, complete with embossed name tags.

7.         The building subsequently fell into general disrepair.  The plumbing and sewage system didn’t work.  The MPs stopped using the gym built for them and preferred to use exercise rooms in five-star hotels in Nairobi.  The air-conditioning didn’t work.  Millions of shillings were spent to lay cables between the Parliament Buildings and the new administration building and to install equipment in the MP offices, but the only computers with internet facilities were in the library.

8.         Some MPs turned their government offices into lodging facilities and private business centers, where import and export enterprises thrived.

9.         Young women ostensibly hired as assistants “did more than just typing and filing.”  “The heavily made-up girls wore their ‘personal assistant’ badges in a way to be admired and walked the corridors of continental House without care.  There were indeed some respectful and decent works in the building, but those were highly outnumbered.”

10.       The tarnished reputations of the MPs were publicly aired after an MP was accused of raping a woman in his office.  (It should be no surprise that the matter never went to court).  At that same time, the press learned that the sewage system at Continental House continually clogged due to careless disposal of used condoms.