Nairobi, Kenya – A few days ago, Commissioners of the Independent Electoral And Boundaries Commission (IEBC) made trips to five foreign states under unclear circumstances.
The taxpayer had to bear and carry the burden of the trips in their entirety, this includes plane tickets costs, 5 star hotels, daily per diem among other perks that come with being a public official in every African Nation.
Elsewhere in the continent, the self declared President for life and malevolent dictator of Cameroon Republic Paul Mvondo Biya has been publicly accused by citizens of his country and internal pressure groups of using state money to live a lavish lifestyle.
He lives on luxury champagne, high-end deluxe presidential guest rooms and expensive platters of meat in Switzerland at the Intercontinental Geneva Hotel.
The extended stays go for as long as three months, he once spent $42000 a day in room costs alone in France in 2009.
This extravagance and undisturbed pilferage and utter wastage of money from public coffers is therefore not unique to Wafula Chebukati and his three commissioners.
Our own Governors travel in convoys of up-to twenty fuel guzzlers filled with their own children and friends who attend functions for ‘fun’ at taxpayer cost.
Long tales can also be told of how the President of Zaire Mobutu Sese Seko once boasted before a group of wedding attendees at his daughters wedding that he could only eat or drink cake and wine made in France.
The Azimio brigade have whistle blown well but citizens know this is the usual fun fair by the political class to incite one group of politicians against the other group in favor of one.
State officials like Chebukati are clearly self serving and should be made to return every coin spent in those countries because it is clear the trips were not to benchmark or assist the country’s well being in any way as elections ended many months ago.
It is also an honorable duty of Mr Chebukati and the other commissioners to issue a public apology and resign.
If this was the United States Of America, what the former Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo did after an allegation was made against him is what the commissioners should do.
Kenyans cannot afford to continue funding useless exploits in a Country where 70% of its population lives below poverty lines.
We can only hope that investigative agencies will not engage in lies, public relations and lip service when dealing with such greed now and in the future.