Corruption has become more than just a national shame. Because there is little or no punishment for the people who perpetrate it and skim of billions from the public, it has started to look increasingly like a national pastime.
The danger with this is that failure to punish offenders will create conditions that will infect all the national systems, institutions and operations to a point where the country will be unable to get anything done unless those in positions of authority benefit personally and directly.
This must not be allowed to become the fate of Kenya and Kenyans.
That is why the proposed law, which will significantly enhance the sanctions against corruption offenders is a breath of fresh air.
However, it is still too soon to pop the champagne.
Such far-reaching proposals on how to deal with those who steal from the public will only make sense if Parliament passes the law and other enforcement agencies take it up and implement it with gusto and without fear or favour.
Public expense
There is not enough in Kenya for the greed of a few.
Yet, their quest for self-aggrandisement at public expense is putting the lives and fortunes the many in peril.
That is why debilitating drought is beginning to look like just another event in the national calendar.
That people are starving at a time when the corrupt are amassing massive wealth is the biggest contradiction of our time.
This must not be allowed to become the norm.
That is why the proposal to enhance jail terms, and make the corrupt pay back twice the amount of benefit or loss they occasioned is a step in the right direction.
However, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating.
The ball is squarely in the MPs' court. The public expects their representatives to rise up to the challenge posed by corruption to the health of the nation and borrow a leaf from other agencies that have demonstrated commitment to fight graft.
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
